Drone's arrested carrier landing

An unmanned X-47B is scheduled to make its first arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier in a historic first on Wednesday. The Northrop Grumman-built aircraft, called “Salty Dog 502,” will leave Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and head for the USS George H.W. Bush, sailing off the coast of Virginia, for the arrested landing aboard CVN 77. Landing on a carrier deck is one of the most challenging tasks for a naval aviator. There will be nobody on the surface controlling the landing. Rather, the X-47B will land autonomously using precision GPS navigation, a high-integrity network connection and advanced flight control software to guide itself through the turbulent air behind the aircraft carrier and onto the moving flight deck. (Source: Navy Live, 07/09/13) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builts portions of the Fire Scout and Global Hawk unmanned systems in Moss Point, Miss. Previous: Drone catapults from carrier; Drone makes arrested landing