The Unmanned X-47B Just Pulled Off a Mid-Air Refueling

Another first for naval aviation, courtesy of the X-47B: An unmanned aircraft has executed a mid-flight refueling.

The Navy's X-47B demonstrator aircraft flew over Chesapeake Bay on April 22 and connected with a refueling tanker during flight. This capability greatly extends the range of an unmanned aircraft and further increases its ability to hover over a target area.

Air-to-air refueling, as Popular Mechanics found during a B-2 flight, takes a lot of hands to go right. The ability of a drone to adapt to the precision flying required for refueling aircraft, and to coordinate with the humans inside the refueling tanker, is impressive.

U.S. Navy

It's also yet another first for the Navy's experimental drone fighter, which became the first unmanned plane to take off from and land on an aircraft carrier.