Aircraft Completed Four Fly-Bys Of The Ship Before Recovery
San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) launched a RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (STUAS) recently, for its first flight at sea. The STUAS completed four fly-bys around the ship before recovering with the STUAS Recovery System (SRS), a cable apparatus the aircraft latches to for recovery. The STUAS completed three months of land-based trial flights aboard Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, Calif., before launching from a San Antonio-class amphibious landing dock ship.