Unmanned systems on the USS George H.W. Bush: US Navy installs first Unmanned Air Warfare Center

The first “Unmanned Air Warfare Center” (UAWC) for unmanned systems has been installed on the “USS George H.W. Bush” (CVN 77), a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the US Navy announced.

At its core is the MD-5E ground control station of the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS), fully functional and integrated. Initially it is to support the MQ-25 tanker drone from Boeing, but future unmanned systems such as Collaborative Combat Aircraft are already factored in.

Initial tests with the UAWC are planned for early next year. The hardware and software installed on board will communicate with a simulated aircraft in a laboratory at Patuxent River.

Unmanned systems as tankers: what the MQ-25 is meant to deliver

Officially, the US Navy sets only two requirements for the MQ-25. It must be able to operate from Nimitz- and Ford-class aircraft carriers, and it must be able to transfer at least 6,350 kilograms of fuel to other aircraft at a distance of up to 500 nautical miles (925 kilometres) from the carrier – ideally even up to 7,257 kilograms.

Besides refuelling combat aircraft, the unmanned tanker is also to take on fuel itself from the large KC-46 tankers and pass it on to other MQ-25s or distribute it further.

The aim is for the carrier group to operate further away from threats whose range is steadily increasing – such as anti-ship ballistic missiles, land-based bombers and hypersonic aircraft. Currently, 20 to 30 per cent of Super Hornet flights from carriers are devoted to aerial refuelling of other US Navy aircraft.

For numerous reasons, the US Navy's MQ-25 programme is well behind schedule. Boeing won the competition in 2018; the US Navy had intended to reach IOC (initial operational capability) in 2024.

The Navy is now aiming for IOC at the end of 2026. The Pentagon's Inspector General fears that the pressure with which the Navy is pushing the programme forward entails excessive risks and could lead to further cost increases and delays.