The last Nimitz-class supercarrier, USS George HW Bush (CVN-77), was equipped with a new Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC). The UAWC features an MD-5E Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) ground control station, the “system of systems” required to control the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray.

The MQ-25 is the first carrier-based unmanned aircraft system (UAS) fielded by the U.S. Navy, assuming the aerial refueling function of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets currently used for this task. The MQ-25 could also eventually assume some intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) functions, further enhancing the capacity and versatility of the Carrier Air Wing and Carrier Strike Group. The refueling function currently accounts for 20-30% of the Super Hornet’s flight time, and transferring this function to the Stingray UAS will help extend the service life of the U.S. Navy’s Super Hornets.

The new UAWC on the USS George HW Bush will house the MQ-25 Stingray operators of the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Multi-Role Squadron Ten (VUQ-10), who will be able to control the MQ-25 directly from the carrier.

USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) was the tenth and final Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier and is the first warship to be equipped with the new UAWC, which was installed as part of a “multi-year, coordinated effort across multiple ship availability periods” that fit into the carrier’s full “mission plan.”

Operators will use the actual GCS hardware and software onboard CVN 77 to communicate with a simulated aircraft in the Pax River laboratory before the first sea tests of the UAWC’s operational networks begin on CVN-77 early next year.

Program Manager Capt. Daniel Fucito of PMA-268 said, “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. These systems will initially support the MQ-25, but will also support future unmanned systems such as Collaborative Combat Aircraft, which make up the Air Wing of the Future.”

Current plans call for all Nimitz-class and Gerald R. Ford-class carriers to be equipped with the MQ-25 system at some point. Initial installation is planned on the Carl Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan carriers starting in fiscal year 2025.