A X47-B navy drone grabs the wire as it lands aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush off the Coast of Virginia Wednesday, July 10, 2013.
After watching the Air Force win plaudits for its MQ-1 Predator drone, the Navy is upping the unmanned ante by developing the carrier-based X-47B. Unlike the 1-ton Predator, with its four-cylinder, 115-horsepower engine, the 20-ton X-47B is powered by the same jet engine used on fighters of similar size. It’s projected to carry 4,500 lb. (2,040 kg) of weapons, compared with the Predator’s paltry pair of Hellfire missiles. A special bonus: an X-47B fleet would have a greater range than piloted planes, keeping the mother ship farther from shore-based enemy defenses.