Tier III Minus DarkStar UAV flies over the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.
The second Tier III Minus DarkStar high altitude endurance unmanned air vehicle flies over the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on June 29, 1998. The vehicle took off from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards at 6:14 a.m. (PDT). During the 44-minute flight, the vehicle achieved an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet and completed pre-programmed basic flight maneuvers. The system successfully executed a fully autonomous flight from takeoff to landing utilizing the differential Global Positioning System.