The UAWC, which the USS Bush will test early next year, will enable the aircraft carrier to incorporate the MQ-25 Stingray and other unmanned units into its flight operations.

The U.S. Navy recently installed the first Unmanned Aerial Warfare Center (UAWC) aboard USS George HW Bush (CVN 77). The UAWC will be used by Air Vehicle Pilots (AVPs) to control the MQ-25 Stingray during air operations, as well as future unmanned platforms.

In a press release dated August 15, 2024, NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command) stated that the installation is a multi-year effort that will be coordinated across multiple ship availability periods and the ship’s deployment plan. Early next year, USS Bush will deploy for the first at-sea testing of the UAWC’s operational networks.

“CVN 77’s UAWC lays the foundation for how the U.S. Navy will operate and control unmanned aircraft and potentially other unmanned vehicles using UMCS,” said Captain Daniel Fucito, program manager for Unmanned Carrier Aviation (PMA-268). “These systems will initially support the MQ-25, but also future unmanned systems such as Collaborative Combat Aircraft, which make up the Air Wing of the Future.”

The UAWC

The Unmanned Air Warfare Center will serve as the carrier-based control room for the unmanned platforms that will be integrated into the future Carrier Air Wing. The UAWC includes software and hardware systems that form the first fully functional and integrated Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) MD-5E Ground Control Station (GCS).

UMCS is the system of systems required for command and control of the MQ-25 aircraft and is critical to the operation of the unmanned aircraft refueler. The GCS was developed by the Navy and integrates the Multi Domain Combat System (MDCX) developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works along with additional supporting equipment and hardware.

The U.S. Navy installs the first unmanned aerial warfare center, integrating advanced command and control capabilities for the Navy’s air wing of the future through the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® MDCX™ Multi-Domain Combat System. 🔗

— Lockheed Martin News (@LMNews) 15 August 2024

The hardware installed in the racks and cockpits is the foundation for the production systems currently being manufactured for installation on CVNs 70, 71 and 76 beginning in fiscal year 2025, NAVAIR says. Earlier this year, a simulated GCS was used on the USS Abraham Lincoln to conduct initial network tests that will allow work to continue, but the next round of testing will be conducted on the actual system.

“This is the first time the AVPs of Unmanned Carrier-Launched Multi-Role Squadron (VUQ) 10 will pilot the MD-5 from an aircraft carrier. They will use the actual GCS hardware and software aboard CVN 77 to communicate with a simulated aircraft in the laboratory at Pax River,” said Joe Nedeau, PMA-268 UMCS chief.

PMA-268 is the lead systems integrator for the MQ-25 and is working closely with its two key industry partners, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, to seamlessly integrate the MQ-25 into carrier operations, including deck guidance, taxiing, and launch and recovery.

The MQ-25 Stingray

The Boeing MQ-25 Stingray is an aerial refueling drone that evolved from the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) program, which in turn evolved from the earlier Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.

The MQ-25 Stingray was developed to meet the U.S. Navy’s need for a carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of providing aerial refueling to carrier battle groups. The MQ-25’s primary mission is to provide on-demand refueling support, significantly increasing the endurance and operational flexibility of carrier-based aircraft.

On June 4, 2021, the MQ-25 Stingray conducted the first air-to-air refueling between an unmanned tanker aircraft and a manned receiver aircraft (a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet). This milestone was achieved by flying Boeing’s own MQ-25 T1 test aircraft from MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, and using the Cobham Aerial Refueling Store (ARS) for refueling, which is also used by F/A-18 aircraft.

The U.S. Navy plans to acquire more than 70 MQ-25s to replace the F/A-18E Super Hornets in the aerial refueling role they currently perform as part of the Carrier Air Wing. They will also become the first operational carrier-based UAV. This will allow the Carrier Air Wing to have more Super Hornets available for operational missions without having to reserve some for the air-to-air refueling (AAR) mission.

“MQ-25 increases the overall lethality of the CVW by relieving the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet of the aerial refueling mission and allowing refueling supplies on the F/A-18’s pylons to be replaced with munitions. As a secondary mission, MQ-25 will conduct recovery refueling and organic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) for the CSG,” says the website of Unmanned Carrier-Launched Multi-Role Squadron Ten (VUQ-10), the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for the MQ-25 Stingray, established on Oct. 1, 2022, at Patuxent River Airfield in Maryland.

In addition to VUQ-10, two operational MQ-25A squadrons, VUQ-11 and 12, will be established. Earlier this year, as part of the development of manned-unmanned teaming technology (MUM-T), Boeing unveiled new software that allows F/A-18 pilots to control the MQ-25 during aerial refueling.

Stefano D’Urso is a freelance journalist and contributor to TheAviationist based in Lecce, Italy. He has a degree in Industrial Engineering and is also currently studying to obtain a Masters in Aerospace Engineering. His areas of expertise include electronic warfare, loitering munitions and OSINT techniques applied in the world of military operations and current conflicts.