MQ-25 Control Room on the George H.W. Bush (CVN-77

The US Navy this week announced it has finished the first installation of a new control room on its aircraft carriers designed for the crew to operate and monitor the service’s next-generation unmanned tanker MQ-25A Stingray.

The new section is dubbed the “Unmanned Air Warfare Center,” and the service finished the installation onboard the George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), according to a Naval Air Systems Command statement.

“This major installation was a multi-year effort coordinated across multiple ship availability periods and the ship’s deployment schedule,” the statement said. “The CVN-based control room, known as the UAWC, includes software and hardware systems that make up the first fully operational and integrated Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) MD-5E Ground Control Station (GCS).”

Capt. Daniel Fucito, the unmanned carrier aviation program manager, said the new UAWC will make up the “foundation” of how the Navy will pilot both MQ-25 and other unmanned aircraft moving forward, such as the future Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

MQ-25, which will refuel strike fighters as well as provide limited intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, is manufactured by Boeing. But the control system, now onboard the George H.W. Bush and destined for other carriers, was developed by the Navy and includes capabilities from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works.

George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is scheduled to participate in testing the new control center early next year.

“This will be the first time the [pilots] from Unmanned Carrier-Launched Multi-Role Squadron (VUQ) 10 will operate the [control stations] from an aircraft carrier,” said Joe Nedeau, a civilian leading the efforts. “They will use the actual [Ground Control Station] hardware and software aboard CVN-77 to communicate with a simulated air vehicle in the lab in Pax River.”

This article was published by Breaking Defense on August 16, 2024.