The U.S. Navy has demonstrated remote aircraft landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier using the Aircraft Terminal Approach Remote Inceptor, or ATARI.
The test marked the first at-sea use of the ATARI system, which was developed by the Naval Air Systems Command and has been tested onshore with a Learjet aircraft in 2016, the Navy said Wednesday.
ATARI is designed to give landing signal officers the option to remotely maneuver an aircraft during recovery operations.
The system is intended to serve as a backup landing method in case LSOs need to take over and guide an aircraft.
The Navy Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 installed ATARI into F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets in 2017 and conducted tests and quality assurance ahead of the first sea-based demonstration.
The test aboard USS Abraham Lincoln involved an F/A-18 aircraft that was manned by a safety pilot.
ATARI engineers will evaluate data from the test and make changes for further at-sea testing.
The remote landing platform is not yet approved for fleet-wide use, but the test provides a potential for future implementation, the Navy noted.
