Geek alert: Northrop releases music video for new drone
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Aerospace fanboys and aviation geeks will be happy to know that Northrop Grumman Corp. has posted a second music video involving its bat-winged robotic jet, dubbed the X-47B.
Yes, it is the company’s second rockin’ music video for the experimental drone. Check out the first one here.
The new video showcases the X-47B as it undergoes test flights at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert.
The revolutionary aircraft is being developed to take off from an aircraft carrier, fly to a target point, and return back to safely land on the carrier -- controlled entirely by a computer. It’s a big step up in technology because current combat drones, such as the Predator and Reaper, are controlled remotely by a human pilot.
Northrop, which recently moved its headquarters to Falls Church, Va., from Century City, has produced two X-47Bs for the Navy.
Currently, the drone has only operated above land, but the company plans on moving it to the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland by the end of the year to begin land-based carrier suitability.
The program aims on demonstrating X-47B aircraft carrier launches and recoveries by 2013.
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-- W.J. Hennigan
