Naval Air: The Ultimate Challenge for Software

Archives

June 9, 2007: Last month, the U.S. Navy successfully completed another test of its UAV carrier landing software. This time, the software was installed in a two-seater F-18F. The software was allowed to get the aircraft to within 420 feet of the carrier deck, at which point a pilot took over and aborted the landing. The software has been tested, in a UAV, landing on a carrier sized airfield. But landing on a carrier at sea is a much more complex piece of work. The testing required for an actual robotic carrier landing will take another few years. UAVs and aircraft have been landing completely under software control for over a decade. But doing a software controlled landing on an aircraft carrier is the ultimate challenge for automatic landing software.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close