Mag lauds X-47B innovators

The Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator was named one of Popular Mechanics magazine's 2013 Breakthrough Award recipients. Popular Mechanics said landing a fighter on the deck of a carrier is a Navy pilot's toughest challenge. But in July the pilot-less X-47B built by Northrop Grumman landed aboard the USS George H.W. Bush. The magazine listed the jet under awards for innovators who changed the world in 2013. The X-47B is the first Navy system to receive the prize since the awards began in 2005. (Sources: Popular Mechanics, Defense News, 10/14/13) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of the unmanned Fire Scout and all variants of the Global Hawk in Moss Point, Miss. Previous