In recent months, Pax River personnel may have noticed a new, uniquely shaped tailless aircraft on the runway, the X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D).

The X-47B is the first unmanned vehicle designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier. As part of the programme’s demonstration, the X-47B will perform arrested landings and catapult launches at Pax to validate its ability to conduct precision approaches to the carrier. The base is one of only a few sites in the world where the navy can run performance tests on aircraft-carrier catapult operations at a land-based facility with flight test and engineering support resources not available on a ship.