Stingrays Take Flight: The Future of Unmanned Warfare Is Here
Why the MQ-25 Stingray Is a Game-Changer for Carrier Operations
At 15,000 feet over the skies of Illinois, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, after several dry runs, lines up on an MQ-25 aerial tanker to refuel, a maneuver that aviators have performed countless times since the first aerial refueling operation in 1923. However, this one was different. In just over a minute, the F/A-18 E/F completes the transfer of just 300 pounds of fuel and disconnects, marking the first time in the history of aviation of a successful air-to-air refueling by an unmanned aircraft to a manned aircraft. It also draws attention to the rapid application of advanced technologies to unmanned systems and their influence on the future of military strategies and warfighting.
The MQ-25 Stingray, the first sea-based unmanned aircraft, is a crucial step in the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program toward the Navy’s vision of an integrated Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) fleet by 2030. The Navy envisions a 60/40 split between unmanned versus manned aircraft. The MQ-25 and the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) are the two core components of this program, with UMCS at the heart of integrating unmanned aircraft operations with the carrier’s manned aircraft operations.
The Navy plans to procure a total of 72 MQ-25 Stingrays, deploying the first increments on an aircraft carrier in 2026. The single-engine MQ-25 will relieve the F/A-18 E/F as the aircraft carrier airwing’s refueling platform, freeing up the F/A-18s for other missions. Smaller and lighter than the F/A-18 and able to stay aloft for hours longer, the MQ-25 will carry 15,000 pounds of fuel, more than half the volume of the F/A-18. According to Rear Admiral Brian Corey, program executive officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, the “MQ-25 will greatly increase the range and endurance of the future carrier air wing – equipping our aircraft carriers with additional assets well into the future.”
The Commander of the U.S. Navy in Central Command’s area of responsibility and Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet, Vice Admiral George Wikoff, reportedly said last month at the Manama Air Power Symposium, “The MQ-25 gives us a glimpse into the future of naval aviation, demonstrating the potential force multiplier advanced uncrewed systems will play in the carrier air wing moving forward.”
As Stingray reaches initial operating capability (IOC) in 2026, carrier operations will be reshaped, and so will the UMCS in reimagining future manned-unmanned mission integration. “UMCS is laying a foundation that will enable control of all unmanned carrier aircraft, starting with the MQ-25 aircraft,” wrote U.S. Navy Captain Dan Fucito in a recent press release. He added, “UMCS opens the door for efficiently introducing future unmanned systems into the complex carrier command and control architecture.”
Capt. Fucito’s comments are insightful, highlighting that the refueling mission platform is the beginning of a shift from manned aircraft towards greater roles and missions for unmanned air platforms. While the unmanned missions today are refueling and ISR, missions such as strike, logistics resupply, command and control, electronic warfare, etc., for unmanned platforms are just a matter of time.
In parallel, the question of how best to combine and employ unmanned and manned platforms, given their respective inherent strengths, is uncertain. At first, lowering the risk to crewed platforms will likely play a prime role for uncrewed platforms. Eventually, highly complex but redundant or repetitive profile missions are most suitable for narrow AI systems and, therefore, prime for conversion to uncrewed platforms. As expertise in designing and employment of uncrewed platforms grows, new operational concepts will emerge, limited only by the imagination of strategists, operational planners, tacticians, and technicians.
So, for the near term, UMCS controls only the MQ-25 refueler. However, in short order, the arrival of new missions for uncrewed platforms and concepts of teaming with crewed aircraft will create new warfighting formations, accelerating the change in the character of war in ways we are just beginning to imagine.
In August 2024, the Navy installed the MQ-25 Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC) onboard the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) and its key equipment, the UMCS, from which navy air vehicle pilots (AVP) will control the MQ-25s. The Navy plans to similarly equip the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) starting in 2025.
In parallel, the first group of Navy warrant officers gained their wings of gold as AVPs and joined VUQ-10, the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Multi-Role Squadron at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. These AVPs will deploy to the aircraft carriers to control the MQ-25s from the UAWCs.
According to Capt. Fucito, “CVN 77’s UAWC lays the foundation for how the U.S. Navy will operate and control unmanned aircraft, and perhaps other unmanned vehicles, with UMCS.”
So why start with the refueling mission in the Unmanned Carrier Aviation program? After much debate in the Pentagon, the decision by former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work was to go with a less expensive mission role platform first out of the barrel, vice a more expensive and more technologically risky mission platform, such as a low-profile strike aircraft. Fielding a refueler is less technically challenging and less expensive and would, in parallel, serve as a ‘pathfinder’ platform facilitating the ability for the Navy to build experience in learning how to fly and control unmanned aircraft and how to integrate unmanned platforms with crewed platforms on the busy flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Over time, the Navy expects to develop the control and coordination necessary to achieve the MUM-T vision, paving the way for more complex (and expensive) uncrewed systems over time.
Progress in unmanned aircraft has not been solely a Navy show. The Air Force has been moving forward as well with fielding uncrewed platforms. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program aims to develop a new family of semi-autonomous, uncrewed aircraft, with humans ‘in the loop’ (in control) that can fly alone or in groups to support crewed aircraft performing a variety of missions from air-to-air, air-to-ground, electronic warfare, ISR and targeting. Known as the “loyal wingman,” the Air Force plans to field this capability before 2030, leveraging advancements in narrow AI for specific tasks intended in part to augment or replace human operators.
According to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, the CCAs are less expensive than crewed aircraft, costing roughly one-third as much. The Air Force plans to use two CCAs for each of its 500 advanced crewed fighters and anticipates ordering 1,000 CCAs, starting with 100 CCAs over the next five years.
As Air Force and Navy unmanned aircraft platforms and operations move forward at the strategic level, steady progress and a continuing string of ‘firsts’ continue to be achieved quietly.
Just last month, Navy AVPs in Maryland operating from a shore-based UMCS demonstrated the CCA interoperability by piloting a General Atomics MQ-20 unmanned aircraft in California. This successful demonstration connected the UMCS to the MQ-20 via a low earth orbit communication satellite, which was done “as part of an effort to advance technology for future CCA,” according to the Naval Aviation Systems Command. Although a demonstration, it is successes like this that bode well for establishing the interoperability between the Navy and Air Force required for a winning edge in future warfighting environments.
As we watch the ongoing introduction of unmanned aircraft in military operations, several key questions arise:
What is the optimal pace for integrating unmanned systems to ensure both technological readiness and operational effectiveness?
What are the risks associated with the rapid deployment of unmanned platforms, particularly in terms of cybersecurity and potential adversary countermeasures?
How will the integration of unmanned and manned platforms impact overall military strategy and doctrine?
The introduction of the MQ-25 Stingray into the operating forces represents a big step in the broader integration of unmanned aircraft, fundamentally changing the character of warfare. While this discussion focuses on unmanned aviation, it is critical to recognize the impact of autonomy across all domains, not just the air domain. Autonomy in maritime surface and subsurface operations, land systems, and even non-physical domains like cyber and electronic warfare are equally impactful to military strategies. As the U.S. Navy and Air Force continue to develop and deploy these advanced, uncrewed systems, we are witnessing the dawn of a new era in military operations. The integration of manned and unmanned platforms – successes and failures - will not only reflect in operational capabilities but also pave the way for innovative warfighting strategies and formations across multiple domains, redefining the future of combat.
This article on the MQ-25 Stingray connects with ideas from our review of The Kill Zone, focusing on how new technologies reshape military strategy. If you're interested in how innovation impacts the battlefield and tactical decisions, The Kill Zone offers additional insights. Be sure to take a look!
Tags: Emerging Technology
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