It took nearly eight months from first flight, but Northrop Grumman has retracted the landing gear of the X-47B in flight.
Then it took another month for them to post the video, but at least it's worth the wait.
The cruise flight test is a critical step on the path to achieving the ultimate goal for the $1 billion unmanned combat air systems-demonstrator (UCAS-D) programme. The US Navy is paying Northrop to build two X-47Bs and to demonstrate that a tailless, stealthy aircraft with no cockpit can land on a moving, rolling runway that is occasionally obstructed by heedless (and very nearly headless) jaywalkers.
By the way, where is Northrop's second X-47B anyway? Perhaps we'll be hearing something about that very soon.
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