The U.S. Navy wants drones that fly 1,150 miles from a carrier deck. They will strike targets. Refuel jets. Hunt submarines. And fight alongside F-35Cs and Super Hornets. No pilot required.
This push forms the core of the service’s Air Wing of the Future. Recent requests for information and new contracts signal serious momentum. The service no longer treats unmanned systems as experiments. They become essential force multipliers. But questions remain about timelines, costs and real-world performance against near-peer foes.
TechRadar first detailed the Navy’s ambitions in a July 2026 article. The service issued a request for information seeking industry ideas for a family of carrier-based autonomous aircraft. (TechRadar)
Those platforms must handle eight distinct missions. Strike ships or land targets. Conduct anti-submarine warfare. Engage in air combat. Perform electronic warfare. Gather intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Handle aerial refueling and resupply. The minimum combat radius stands at 1,000 nautical miles. Roughly 1,150 statute miles. Autonomy must allow independent carrier operations, mid-mission changes and threat avoidance. All while working with existing unmanned control systems.
The RFI opened doors beyond the carrier deck. Officials expressed openness to concepts that could launch from destroyers too. Scale matters here. The Navy seeks affordable, mass-produced systems. Risk tolerance rises when a drone costs far less than a manned fighter. Losses become acceptable in high-threat fights against China or Russia.
The Stingray Leads the Way
Boeing’s MQ-25A Stingray tanker already demonstrates the concept. Its first operational test flight occurred on April 27, 2026. The aircraft flew with real systems destined for fleet use. (Migflug)
Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander of Naval Air Forces, laid out the schedule months earlier. “We will fly that platform in ’25 and get that thing on a carrier in ’26 and start integrating that thing.” He spoke at the WEST 2025 conference. The tanker extends the reach of carrier strike groups. It carries 15,000 pounds of fuel out to 500 nautical miles. Plans call for 76 aircraft at a total cost around $1.3 billion. (USNI News)
Rear Adm. Keith Hash, program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, described the bigger picture. Integration of the MQ-25A “unlocks” future manned-unmanned teaming. That includes collaborative combat aircraft. The Stingray proves the control systems work. It validates deck handling. And it builds confidence among pilots and maintainers.
Yet delays persist. Some budget documents now point to initial carrier deployment in 2029 instead of earlier targets. First flight of a full-production version slipped. Operational testing continues. So does software refinement for the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System.
Loyal Wingmen Join the Formation
The Navy moved faster than expected on collaborative combat aircraft. In 2025 it awarded conceptual design contracts to five major players. Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman each received work. The effort complements the MQ-25 rather than competes with it. (The War Zone)
Anduril emphasized speed and numbers. “We are focused on delivering an aircraft built specifically to the Navy’s distinct needs, at rapid speed and formidable scale.” The company brings fresh ideas from its Ghost X and other autonomous programs.
General Atomics pointed to its carrier experience. “GA-ASI has recorded numerous recent aviation milestones with our aircraft at sea.” That includes tests of the MQ-20 Avenger and Mojave drone from British and South Korean ships.
Lockheed Martin highlighted its autonomy software. The Skunk Works MDCX platform already serves as a program of record for the Navy’s MD-5 control system. It has directed MQ-20 Avengers in live tests.
These designs aim to act as loyal wingmen. They fly with manned fighters. They carry extra sensors or weapons. They take on the most dangerous tasks. One analyst put it plainly. “The question is no longer whether the carrier gets unmanned aircraft. It is how many, how fast, and who builds the brains.”
A separate competition focuses on autonomy software. Anduril, Shield AI and Collins Aerospace compete to provide the intelligence that lets drones adapt in flight. Human operators stay in the loop for key decisions. Yet the systems must handle routine tasks and sudden threats without constant input.
Defense Daily reported on July 16, 2026 that the Navy continues market research for even more unmanned options. The RFI from two days earlier seeks platforms that go beyond current MQ-25 and CCA efforts. All of it fits under the Air Wing of the Future Family of Systems. That initiative ties into broader fleet expansion plans known as the Golden Fleet. (Defense Daily)
Recent exercises show progress. The USS Carl Vinson operated an advanced air wing during RIMPAC 2024. It included F-35Cs alongside traditional Hornets, Growlers and Hawkeyes. No unmanned combat aircraft flew from the deck yet. The integration steps remain deliberate. (Naval News)
Challenges stack up. Carrier landings demand precision. High winds, pitching decks and electromagnetic interference complicate autonomous operations. The Navy learned from the X-47B program years ago. That demonstrator landed on a carrier but never entered production. Lessons from those tests inform current efforts.
Budget pressure adds another layer. The service balances new ships, missiles and these drones against tight funding. Each CCA might cost tens of millions instead of hundreds. That math supports buying them in quantity. But Congress wants proof they work before committing large sums.
China watches closely. The People’s Liberation Army Navy fields its own carrier drones and unmanned surface vessels. Any American advantage must arrive before Beijing closes the gap. Pacific exercises test concepts against realistic threats. Long-range missiles already force carriers to operate farther from shore. Drones restore offensive reach.
So the Navy presses ahead. It tests the MQ-25 at sea. It funds conceptual CCA designs. It gathers industry proposals for additional platforms. The air wing of tomorrow won’t look like today’s. More aircraft. Fewer pilots. Greater persistence. Higher risk tolerance.
Exactly how many drones will join each carrier air wing? That answer will come in the next few years. For now the focus stays on making the first ones reliable. Affordable. And lethal when it counts.
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