2002: A Predator UAV launched a mini-UAV while in flight over Edwards AFB. This was the first time that an operational UAV carried and launched another UAV. The Predator carried the mini-UAV, a 57-pound Navy Flight Inserted Detector Expendable for Reconnaissance (FINDER, seen here), on a wing pylon and released it at 10,000 feet. Following launch, the mini-UAV conducted a 25-minute preprogrammed mission before landing on the dry lakebed.
