Navy equips aircraft carrier with first drone operations center

An MQ-25 Stingray test unit performs deck maneuvers aboard the USS George HW Bush in 2021. This unmanned carrier-based aircraft demonstration marked the first time the Navy conducted tests with the MQ-25 at sea. (US Navy)

The U.S. Navy recently equipped an aircraft carrier with the first drone operations center, advancing its high-tech initiative in the field of remotely piloted aircraft.

The MQ-25 Stingray warfare center has been installed aboard the USS George HW Bush, which is stationed at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, the Naval Air Systems Command announced on August 15. Built by Boeing, the MQ-25 Stingray is a tanker drone designed to refuel manned fighter jets in the air.

Early next year, Bush will put the military center to the test, conducting the first tests of the center’s networks at sea. The crew will not operate a Stingray but will use the software to communicate with a simulated aircraft in a laboratory in Patuxent River, Maryland.

The carrier-based warfare center lays the foundation for the Navy’s use of unmanned aircraft, said Capt. Daniel Fucito, head of the Navy’s unmanned carrier aviation program.

“These systems will initially support the MQ-25, but also future unmanned systems such as cooperative combat aircraft that will form the air forces of the future,” he said.

The first installation of an unmanned aerial warfare center aboard the USS George HW Bush, from where aircraft pilots will control MQ-25 Stingray airborne operations. (US Navy)

The Navy plans to install unmanned warfare centers on all Nimitz- and Ford-class carriers to make them Stingray-capable. Some systems required to operate the refueling drone are already being manufactured for the USS Carl Vinson, USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Ronald Reagan. Installation is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2025.

“Our program gets things done much faster than any other normal launch program,” said Gordon Carlon, deputy team leader for carrier-based warfare center establishment.

Boeing was awarded the contract to develop the Stingray and first tested a prototype in 2019. In 2021, the drone was tested aboard the Bush and performed the first air-to-air refueling of an F-18 Super Hornet and an F-35 Lightning II (both fighter jets) as well as an E-2 Hawkeye, which are used for intelligence gathering.

When the program is fully operational, the carrier-based Stingray will be operated by a team in the warfare center aboard the warship.

The goal of the Stingray is to extend the flight range of manned combat aircraft and thus increase the range of carrier squadrons, Boeing explained.