Photo Release -- Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Complete At-Sea Deck Handling Trials Of X-47B Unmanned Demonstrator

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md., Dec. 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Navy have successfully completed a series of deck handling trials of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aircraft aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy recently conducted deck handling trials of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). Trials were designed to demonstrate the aircraft's ability to integrate smoothly with carrier operations. The X-47B UCAS demonstrator taxies on the flight deck of the carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) under the direction of a flight deck director ("yellow shirt") and the control of a flight deck operator using a handheld controller to direct the movements of the aircraft.

Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=16368 .

The exercises, conducted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 17, demonstrated the ability to maneuver the tailless, strike-fighter-sized aircraft quickly and precisely on the flight deck using a wireless handheld controller. They are the latest in a series of test activities leading up to the first carrier landings of the X-47B planned for 2013.

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