One day, fighting drones may replace manned fighter jets. But before that happens, drones will have to live alongside manned planes as the Pentagon integrates autonomous aircraft into the fleets.
It's already begun. This weekend the U.S. Navy released footage of the X-47B unmanned aircraft taking off and landing on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. That we've seen before: The drone became the first to complete that feat in May 2013. What's remarkable this new footage is that it's so mundane. The X-47B follows F/A-18s in the takeoff queue—just one of the guys.
Something that is very cool: Toward the end of the clip you can see the unmanned plane fold up its wings.
If you want to know lots more about the meeting of manned fighters and unmanned planes, check out the Popular Mechanics feature: Are Pilots—or Robots—the Future of Naval Aviation?
Via Gizmodo.
Andrew's from Nebraska. His work has also appeared in Discover, The Awl, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Playboy, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn with two cats and a snake.
