THE US NAVY have boosted it's weaponry with a Drone which is the size of a fighter jet.
US navy launches carrier-borne drone
Test flight could eventually open the way for the US to launch unmanned aircraft from almost anywhere in the world.
Tuesday's test flight in the Atlantic could eventually pave the way for the US to launch unmanned aircraft from almost anywhere in the world.
The X-47B is the first drone designed to take off and land on a carrier, meaning the US military would not need permission from other countries to use their bases.
The move to expand the capabilities of the nation's drones comes amid growing criticism of America's use of Predators and Reapers to gather intelligence and carry out lethal missile attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
"The big public display is to build support for this program, to make sure that we follow through on it and that we're willing to spend the money," said defence analyst James Lewis, who is senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"If Congress pulls the plug on this it will set the Navy back a decade."
While the X-47B isn't intended for operational use, it will help Navy officials develop future carrier-based drones.
The next critical test for the tailless plane will come this summer, when it attempts to land on a moving aircraft carrier, one of the most difficult tasks for pilots.
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The drones could begin operating by 2020, according to Rear Admiral Mat Winter, the navy programme's executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons.
The X-47B is far bigger than the Predator, the drones generally used by the US at the moment, has three times the range, and can be programmed to carry out missions with no human intervention, the navy said.
While the X-47B is not a stealth aircraft, it was designed with the low profile of one.
That will help in the development of future stealth drones, which would be valuable as the military changes its focus from the Middle East to the Pacific, where a number of countries' air defences are a lot stronger than Afghanistan's.
During Tuesday's flight, the X-47B used a steam catapult to launch, just as traditional navy warplanes do.
The unarmed aircraft then landed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.
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The US and the UK say they will work to strengthen the moderate opposition in Syria and create a transitional body to replace President Bashar al-Assad.
US President Barack Obama said such a body would be the goal of a meeting in Geneva in "the coming weeks".
The US recently won Russian support for the conference.