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We’ve Caught a Glimpse of Northrop’s Carrier-Launched Tanker Drone

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rangerrebew:

We’ve Caught a Glimpse of Northrop’s Carrier-Launched Tanker Drone

David Axe [2]

The U.S. Navy’s future drone tanker has begun to break cover. In mid-August 2017, the first photos appeared [3] depicting Northrop Grumman’s entry in the Navy’s Carrier-Based Aerial Refueling System, or CBARS — the years-long effort to produce the first drone warplane for the Navy’s carrier air wings.

The photos, obtained by trade publication Aviation Week, depict one of Northrop’s X-47B jet-powered drone demonstrators U.S. Air Force’s secretive Plant 42 facility in Palmdale, California. The X-47B in the photos carries, under its 62-foot-span delta-shape wing, what appears to be a Cobham aerial-refueling pod. On the opposite side of the wing, there’s a drop tank for extra fuel.

Source URL (retrieved on August 22, 2017): http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/weve-caught-glimpse-northrops-carrier-launched-tanker-drone-21983

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