The US Navy, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and Lockheed Marin worked together to complete, on November 5, an important demonstration of control of a large drone from the control station that the US Navy is adopting for use on its aircraft carriers.
During the demonstration, US Navy Air Vehicle Pilots (AVPs) took remote control of an MQ-20 AVENGER flying from GA-ASI’s test site in California, directly from the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, in Maryland. The US Navy pilots used the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS), a drone control station being adopted on the aircraft carriers primarily (at least for now) for operating with the MQ-25 STINGRAY uncrewed tanker aircraft.
The UMCS was able to connect with the MQ-20 Beyond Line of Site (BLOS) via a “proliferated low Earth orbit (pLEO) satellite constellation” (not better identified in the news releases) which enabled the transmission of flight control commands and mission systems data.
The test marked the first time in which a GA-ASI UAS completed bidirectional communications with the UMCS while otherwise flying autonomously without need for direct pilot intervention. According to GA-ASI, the MQ-20 AVENGER “leveraged its Tactical Autonomy Core Ecosystem (TacACE) software to fly in a semi-autonomous mode during the test”. The MQ-20 has been, and continues to be used intensively in demonstrations connected to the development of artificial intelligence-driven autonomy systems, having notably been an early user of the SKYBORG autonomy core developed for the US Air Force.
While the MQ-20 AVENGER has not been definitively picked for any of the ongoing projects for acquisition of “loyal wingman”-type capabilities for the USAF, USMC or US Navy, it continues to serve as an invaluable flying laboratory supporting development of key technology and early experimentation. While multiple activities so far have supported the USAF’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft project, in this case the MQ-20 served as a surrogate platform for the MQ-25 STINGRAY, which the US Navy plans to regularly embark on its aircraft carriers starting in 2026, with current plans calling for the procurement of 76 units. While this uncrewed tanker will be the first major UAS embarked on the CVNs, the US Navy has plans to add more platforms, for more roles, including strike. It also intends to be interoperable with the USAF’s own CCA, as well as, of course, the platforms picked by the USMC.
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works advanced projects division took part in the event because it has long been involved in the development of the UMCS: they supply the Multi Domain Combat System (MDCX) that runs on the MD-5E ground control station, which includes an array of monitors, tablet-like devices, and other computer hardware. Together, these major components and their ancillaries compose the UMCS system.
The UMCS is to be eventually fitted to all in-service aircraft carriers, and in August the Nimitz class USS George H.W Bush became the first CVN to receive a full, dedicated Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC), centered on the UMCS. The MQ-25 tanker will be a key force multiplier which will release Super Hornet jets from the air refuelling role and will facilitate an extension of the mission range of the embarked air wing.
Greater prospective availability of embarked air refuelling capability is in turn driving other capability improvements such as, notably, the addition of receiver probes on E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes that will enable in flight refuelling for the carrier’s AEW platforms.
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