The U.S. Navy took the next step towards operating unmanned aerial vehicles from carrier decks with the unveiling of the X-47B Navy Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS). Built by Northrop Grumman, this aircraft has a 4,500 pound payload and is capable of "high subsonic" flight to 40,000 feet. The Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAS photo gallery shows this to be a "fighter-sized" aircraft.

Composites World states in Northrop Grumman launches U.S. Navy UAV:

The aircraft will now undergo subsystem and structural testing in preparation for first flight in fall 2009. UCAS CV Demonstration sea trials are planned to begin in late 2011.

The second X-47B aircraft is in initial assembly at the Palmdale, Calif., facility and is expected to be completed in 2009. The X-47B UCAS is produced by Northrop Grumman and industry teammates including Dell, Eaton Aerospace, GE Aviation, GKN Aerospace, Goodrich, Hamilton Sundstrand, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Moog, Parker Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell Collins and Wind River.

The Missile Defense Agency conducted a hover test of the Multiple Kill Vehicle-L (MKV-L) on December 2, 2008. The video of this test is rather amazing as this device shoots rocket bursts in all directions in order to hover in the air and point itself at moving targets.

The MKV-L mission is to destroy medium through intercontinental-range ballistic missiles equipped with multiple warheads or countermeasures by using a single interceptor missile. During an actual hostile ballistic missile attack, the carrier vehicle with its cargo of small kill vehicles will maneuver into the path of an enemy missile. Using tracking data from the Ballistic Missile Defense System and its own seeker, the carrier vehicle will dispense and guide the kill vehicles to destroy any warheads or countermeasures.

For more info, see:

Multiple Kill Vehicle Completes Hover Test

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Propulsion System Successfully Hovers Missile Defense Payload