Fri Jan 31 22:30:00 IST 2025: ## Navy Unveils Plan for Next-Generation Carrier Air Wings Dominated by Drones and Long-Range Weapons

**SAN DIEGO, CA** – The U.S. Navy is charting a course towards a future carrier air wing significantly more lethal and autonomous, prioritizing long-range capabilities and unmanned systems to counter evolving threats in the Pacific. This vision, detailed at the WEST 2025 conference, centers around the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker drone, slated for its maiden flight before the end of the year and carrier deployment in 2026.

The MQ-25, according to Navy officials, is crucial for extending the range and persistence of other aircraft, freeing up crewed F/A-18 Super Hornets from tanker duties. It will also possess secondary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, and future variants may even be employed as standoff strike platforms.

This drone initiative is part of a broader strategy involving several key components:

* **Long-range weapons:** The Navy is developing and integrating advanced long-range weaponry, including the air-launched SM-6 AIM-174B missile and air-launched hypersonic anti-ship missiles, to engage targets across vast distances. The AGM-88G AARGM-ER and AGM-158C-3 LRASM are also slated for integration.

* **Advanced platforms:** The future F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter jet, expected to enter service in the 2030s, will play a crucial role, replacing the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G. Existing platforms like the F-35C, E-2 Hawkeye, and MH-60 Seahawk will also continue to serve.

* **Robust networks:** The Navy emphasizes the importance of advanced networking and command and control systems to support long-range kill chains in contested environments. This includes development of dedicated unmanned aviation control centers on carriers.

The Navy aims for its air wings to be up to 60% unmanned in the future, investing in lower-cost, potentially expendable drones. This initiative comes amidst global advancements in unmanned carrier-based aviation, including China’s development of the GJ-11 stealth drone.

While acknowledging challenges like delays and cost overruns with the MQ-25 program, Navy officials expressed confidence in their ability to integrate unmanned systems seamlessly into daily operations. The Navy’s vision, they say, is to create a more lethal, persistent, and interconnected carrier air wing capable of operating effectively in contested spaces.

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