The United States Navy just took another major step forward on its path to pair unmanned aircraft with piloted planes. The Navy is working closely with the United States Air Force to develop Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), also known as loyal wingmen.
In early November 2024, Navy Air Vehicle Pilots stationed in Maryland were able to launch and fly an MQ-20 Avenger that was on the other side of the country in California. The demonstration proved the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station, or UMCS, was all but ready for action.
The backbone of the UMCS is Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ MDCX, or Multi-Domain Combat System. Lockheed said the MDCX provides uncrewed vehicle autonomy, mission planning and command and control capability in a proven, secure package.
For the November demo, the MDCX communicated with the Avenger through a proliferated low-earth orbit (pLEO) satellite network. A pLEO uses a large number of small satellites working together, ensuring the mission can continue even if one or more satellites go down.
The MQ-20 Avenger used in the demo is built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. It is widely used as a testing platform for various new technologies the Navy, or other service branches, might want to implement on future unmanned aerial systems. In this case, the Avenger served as a stand-in for the MQ-25 Stingray.
Scheduled to be operational in 2026 and built by Boeing, the Stingray will be the world’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft. It will initially fly missions for the Navy as an aerial refueler, freeing up some Navy fighters that were performing this role. However, the Stingray could also be equipped with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. Eventually, it could carry munitions as well.
The Navy has big plans for the Stingray and other collaborative combat aircraft still in development. None of these plans will be possible, however, without first validating the foundational concepts, which is why tests like the November flight demonstration are so critical.
As the Russians discovered in Ukraine, it doesn’t matter how ‘cool’ the drone is, if you can’t communicate with it.
One of the pilots in the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation Program, Lt. Steven Wilster, said that not only was it great to be a part of history, but everyone involved in the demonstration “is paving the way for integrating critical unmanned capability across the joint force to combat the high-end threat our warfighters face today and in the future.”
