Report: U.S. Carriers Need New Lethal Unmanned Aircraft, New Fighter to Stay Relevant

X-47B Salty Dog 501 flies over USS Theodore Roosevelt on Aug. 17, 2014. US Naval Institute Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. — To keep U.S. carriers relevant into the 21st century, the Navy needs to restart development of a lethal unmanned aircraft to fly from carrier decks, according to a new study on the future of the carrier air wing.

The Navy’s current air wing is composed of aircraft that don’t have the effective combat radius required to fight a far-flung island campaign in the Western Pacific,...

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/05/report-u-s-carriers-need-new-lethal-unmanned-aircraft-new-fighter-to-stay-relevant