Navy Successfully Lands Drone on Carrier Deck

A historic first

The U.S. Navy conducted a historic flight test Wednesday off the coast of Virginia when an experimental bat-winged drone made an arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier for the first time.

The flight of the drone, dubbed X-47B, could redefine naval aviation.

Landing on an aircraft carrier as it plies the ocean and pitches with the waves is considered an extremely difficult feat for even the most seasoned pilot. The X-47B was controlled almost entirely by computer.