The future of Naval aviation is here...and it looks a whole lot like the Air Farce. The unmanned carrier-based aircraft X-47B (yet to be named) stealth bomber underwent taxi and flight deck suitability trials about USS TRUMAN earlier this month. Check out this comprehensive report from Defense News "Intercepts" website.
Though far from a definitive source on weapons or military systems, Wikipedia's summary of the X-47B provides a decent description of Northrop Grumman's latest carrier-based aircraft.
It's hard to imagine unmanned aircraft will take over carrier decks or flight lines completely, but it is undisputed that their value and place in DoD's air warfare inventory increases each year. Just hoping "Fly Navy" bumper stickers aren't replaced with "Drone Navy" anytime soon.
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