The Battle of the Coral Sea, the first carrier battle in history, marked a critical turning point in the Pacific War. In April 1942, Japan sought to isolate Australia by seizing strategic locations but was intercepted by American carriers Lexington and Yorktown, thanks to decrypted Japanese plans.
On June 8, 1940, the HMS Glorious, along with its two escort destroyers, encountered the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the Norwegian Sea, leading to one of World War II's most controversial naval battles. This incident is notable for being perhaps the only time battleships directly destroyed an aircraft carrier.
During the Pacific War's early months, the USS Lexington played a pivotal role in the Battle of the Coral Sea, marking the first carrier battle in history where opposing ships never saw each other.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) demonstrated its rapidly maturing open standards-based autonomy ecosystem for Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) on an MQ-20 Avenger® as part of a live flight test on Nov. 2, 2023.