We Live in Interesting Times

A year ago the world watched as the Chinese landed an piloted aircraft on an aircraft carrier, a capability few in the world possess even in the early 21st century. On Wednesday the United States landed an unmanned vehicle moving at 145 knots autonomously piloted by software on a ship moving at over 20 knots. It is the most impressive thing an unmanned aviation vehicle has ever done.

The success of the X-47B delivers many choices to the Navy. Unmanned aviation is bigger than the evolution from propeller to jet engines, or the evolution from guns to missiles - both of which were natural technological evolutions for naval aviation. UCLASS brings disruptive change to naval aviation unlike anything else the community has seen in 100 years.

The decisions of the very near future will define the community for the next half century. We live in interesting times.