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InBrief
Admiral: We Saw History Today
Unmanned US Jet Makes First Carrier Launch
By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS ABOARD THE USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH The US Navys effort to develop an unmanned jet capable of carrierbased flight operations took a major step forward May 14 with the first seagoing catapult launch of the Northrop Grumman X-47B concept demonstrator aircraft. We saw history today, Rear Adm. Ted Branch, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic, gushed to reporters aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush after the launch of the unmanned combat air system (UCAS). This is more than a step. This is a stride into the future of naval aviation. A group of admirals and highranking officials, accompanied by reporters and cameramen, gathered on the carriers flight deck to witness the launch, which took place in calm weather on a sunny day about100 miles off Virginia and Maryland. The tailless jet, similar in shape to a B-2 bomber but more like an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter in size, revved its engine. Control was switched from operators on the flight deck to the control tower in the island. The launch captain gave the traditional salute returned by the X-47B flashing its navigation lights and then the go sign. The jet roared, the steam catapult let go and the aircraft took to the air accompanied by cheering onlookers. After two programmed passes over the ship to simulate a landing approach, the aircraft flew about 150 miles back to the Navys flight
CHRISTOPHER P . CAVAS/STAFF

Unmanned Takeoff: One of the US Navys two X-47B unmanned combat aircraft begins its launch run from a catapult aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush off the coast of Virginia on May 14. in naval aviation. Engineers will continue to practice arrested landings at Pax River using the two X-47Bs, said Don Blottenberger of the Navys UCAS program. After about 10 more landings, the first carrier landing will be attempted later this summer. The UCAS flight test program should wrap up by the end of the year, Blottenberger said, with 2014 being spent winding down the program and merging it into the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System (UCLASS) effort to develop an operational carrier-based jet able to perform strike missions. N Email: ccavas@defensenews.com.

US NAVY

Aerial view as the X-47B launches. test center at Patuxent River, Md. You saw the X-47 fly precisely where we wanted it to, Rear Adm. MathiasWinter,theNavysprogram executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, told reporters. Today is a red-letter day

Sources: Armed UAVs Unlikely To Be Transferred From CIA

WASHINGTON The Obama administration has floated the idea of putting the CIAs controversial targeted killing operations under the control of the uniformed armed services. But sources familiar with the still-classified program, which uses unmanned aircraft to kill suspected terrorists in Pakistan and Yemen, say the shift would be difficult to implement and would make little difference. All of the specially outfitted Reaper and Predator UAVs used in the CIAs program actually belong to the US Air Force. In all, the CIA controls more than 80 remotely piloted vehicles, or about one-third of the Air Forces fleet of Reapers and Predators, according to an official familiar with the program. That figure has not previously been disclosed. The Predators, known as MQ-1s, and the Reapers, known as MQ-9s, are manufactured by General Atomics. Both the CIA and Air Force declined to comment for this story. The CIA has outfitted its Air Force UAVs, all purchased from General Atomics, with spe-

cial features, sources say. They say the agency has a more agile contracting process than the Air Force. The refits include four-bladed propellers, which enable the CIA UAVs to take off from shorter runways and may give them a higher operating ceiling as well. With more blades, you can slice through more air, one UAV expert said. The UAVs assigned to the CIA also carry more advanced sensors. For example, they shoot high-definition, 1080p full-motion video, while the Air Force UAV sensors offer just standard definition. Air Force drones may be used as much to gather intelligence as for airstrikes, where CIA UAVs are configured so they can watch, gather intelligence and eventually kill. The CIAs Predators and Reapers deployed

overseas are maintained by contractors, to reduce the military footprint. But during missions, they are controlled by uniformed Air Force officers at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. Thats according to sources and as reported in The Way of the Knife, a new book by Mark Mazzetti. Mark Ambinder, of The Week, has also reported that the CIA drones are flown by Air Force pilots. People familiar with the UAV program say that when it comes time to pull the trigger on a weapon aimed at a suspected terrorist, whether the mission is run by the CIA or the Air Force, the action is always conducted by military officers. It is US government policy that only uniformed personnel can be the trigger pullers, the sources said. N Aram Roston