3,400 Kilometers Away! U.S. Navy's USS Ronald Reagan Conducts First Remote Control of MQ-25 Tanker Drone
The U.S. Navy has, for the first time, remotely operated an MQ-25A "Stingray" unmanned aerial refueling drone located in the continental United States from a control station aboard an aircraft carrier at sea. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced the test results on the 19th. At the time, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) was sailing in the Pacific Ocean, while the drone was in Illinois, separated by more than 2,100 miles (approximately 3,380 kilometers). The two were connected via a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.
According to the U.S. military aviation website The Aviationist, this test, dubbed a "Preliminary Sea Trial," focused on verifying the remote connection and control capabilities between the carrier's control station and the drone. This follows the installation of an Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) on the Ronald Reagan and is a separate system test from the shipboard equipment upgrades announced in early October.
The test utilized an expanded low-Earth orbit (pLEO) satellite network to connect the MD-5C Ground Control Station (GCS) within the Ronald Reagan's Unmanned Aviation Warfare Center (UAWC) to the MQ-25A located in the U.S. The U.S. Navy stated that the test validated the relevant procedures, communication networks, and interfaces, while also checking the integration of the control station's software and hardware.
The MD-5C control station is used by the U.S. Navy to operate the MQ-25A, and the system is also planned to support other future carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicles. The focus of this test was to ensure that an aircraft carrier can still control land-based drones via remote connection while at sea, accumulating test experience for subsequent carrier-based unmanned aviation operations.
Sharing Tanker Duties to Significantly Expand Strike Range of Carrier-Based Aircraft
The MQ-25A, developed by Boeing, is primarily tasked with providing aerial refueling for carrier-based fighter jets. The U.S. Navy hopes that by using unmanned tankers to take over the "buddy refueling" missions currently performed by F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets, manned fighters will be able to retain more fuel for other missions, thereby expanding the operational range of the carrier air wing.
In addition to the remote control test, Boeing also announced progress in early October regarding the testing of "Manned-Unmanned Teaming" (MUM-T) command and control software for the MQ-25. This software uses the Link 16 military data link to verify command and control functions between manned aircraft and drones; further testing and evaluation are required before it can be integrated into the MQ-25A and F/A-18 series fighter jets.
In September, the U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a low-rate initial production contract for the MQ-25A, valued at approximately $562 million (about NT$18.4 billion), bringing the total number of contracted unmanned tankers to 14.
