Witness the beginning of a new era: the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System on the flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman. Soon, there will be no more Maverick or Ice Man. In a couple of decades, everything will be stealthy, autonomous or remote controlled war creatures, much more cost-effective than their expensive human-carrying counterparts.
It’s not as romantic and epic, but it’s cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to operate and has zero life costs. The eighth Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy is acting as the test bed for this unmanned aeroplane, with the crew training to operate it. [US Navy]