Carrier-based drone offers way forward for US navy – subject to squabbling

Barely a year after the world's most sophisticated drone proved it could take off and land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, the project is at a crossroads, with huge implications for the future not only of drone warfare but US seapower writ large.

The US navy will soon release a request for proposals from a handful of defense companies for the development of the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike vehicle, or UCLASS.

That highly bureaucratic document will formalize the navy's vision for what it wants the highly advanced drone to do.

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