PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The U.S. Navy marked a significant milestone on November 5, conducting the first live test of its Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station (UMCS) to control an unmanned aircraft in flight. This achievement is a crucial step toward future unmanned carrier aviation operations and paves the way for advanced collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) development.
The test, facilitated by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), was a joint demonstration between the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program office (PMA-268) and Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works®. The exercise demonstrated the UMCS’s ability to establish connectivity and command the MQ-20 Avenger, a CCA technology demonstration aircraft.
“UMCS is laying a foundation that will enable control of all unmanned carrier aircraft, starting with the MQ-25 aircraft,” said Capt. Daniel Fucito, PMA-268 program manager. “The UMCS opens the door for efficiently introducing future unmanned systems into the complex carrier command and control architecture.”
In the demonstration, the MQ-20 was controlled remotely by Navy Air Vehicle Pilots (AVPs) stationed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, while the aircraft itself operated from GA-ASI’s test facility in California. This capability was enabled by connecting the UMCS to the MQ-20 through a Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) link supported by a proliferated low Earth orbit (pLEO) satellite constellation, allowing the transmission of flight control commands and the receipt of mission data.
UMCS, the command and control system behind the MQ-25, is essential for the operation of future carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Central to UMCS is the MD-5 Ground Control Station, featuring Lockheed Martin’s Multi-Domain Combat System (MDCX™) autonomy platform. During the demonstration, this platform hosted the AVPs, who successfully commanded the unmanned aircraft.
“This was a huge step for unmanned naval aviation,” said Lt. Steven Wilster, an MQ-25 AVP. “This demo showcased UMCS’s first live control of an unmanned air vehicle, and it was great to be part of history in the making. The team 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.”
This initiative aligns with the ongoing Tri-Service Memorandum of Understanding involving the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, which focuses on the development of CCA platform subsystems. The Navy, leading the Department of Defense (DOD) efforts, is collaborating with Lockheed Martin to create a standardized control architecture and ground control station, leveraging Lockheed Martin’s extensive experience in delivering ground control systems.
The demonstration’s success will inform the Navy’s future requirements and assist in the further development of key command and control technologies. Plans are already in place for more digital and live surrogate test flights aimed at showcasing autonomy, mission systems, crewed-uncrewed collaboration, and advancements in communication and control systems.
The Navy’s development of a common, interoperable control system aims to streamline future carrier-based operations, ensuring a seamless integration of unmanned aircraft into the fleet and enhancing the U.S. military’s capability to meet modern threats.
