The Navy’s RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (STUAS) completed its first flight at sea Feb. 10 from the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19).
The system completed three months of land-based trial flights at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif., before launching from a LPD-class ship.
The photograph shows the RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (STUAS) is recovered with the flight recovery apparatus cable on the flight deck of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) after its first flight at sea. Mesa Verde is underway conducting exercises in the Gulf of Mexico.
