The Navy is one year away from landing its first unmanned jet aircraft aboard a carrier after completing the most recent round of surrogate tests aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

In early July, members from the unmanned combat air system demonstration (UCAS-D) carrier integration team engaged in extensive software testing aboard Truman to validate the concept of autonomous UAV operations around an aircraft carrier and prepare for the X-47B unmanned aircraft’s arrival on a carrier next year.

“Demonstrating our concept of operations and making sure the Carrier Segment is performing as advertised is a huge milestone for the programme,” said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, Navy UCAS Programme Manager. “The crew, equipment, and programme team performed exceptionally well during all planned test events and the Harry S. Truman is ready for our next phase of X-47B testing.”