CDR Salamander - Carrier Capable Unmanned Aircraft: Take II

It was a dozen years ago that...we thought—really thought—that with the X-47B we could move from crawl to walk with large unmanned systems.

From the OG Blog in July, 2017:

I'm interested in how many can I physically wedge on to a carrier deck and/or hangar bay. I'll waive the flight control issue etc - but once you know how many you can actually pack in your helmet bag and carry (given tradeoffs for other aircraft etc) - then we can start to plan orbits, sorties, loss-rate mitigation, etc.

Now, if there were a way to stack them like so many Pringles .....

Ponder.

Of course, by the end of the year, the usual suspects killed it for all the worst reasons.

We could have had over a decade more experience—probably close to two decades by now—in operating large unmanned aircraft from carriers, but alas, it did not happen.

We now have a second chance.

As promised on yesterday’s UNCLAS Read Board Podcast, it is time to say, “Yes. Thank you. More. Faster.”

Via Diana Stancy in Breaking Defense:

The Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial system received the green light to move into low-rate initial production (LRIP), acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said today.

As part of the production decision, known as Milestone C, an LRIP Lot 1 contract for three aircraft is expected this summer, along with priced options for three Lot 2 aircraft and five Lot 3 aircraft, according to the Navy.

“Unmanned refueling extends our reach against any adversary,” Cao said in a statement today. “Moving the MQ-25A Stingray to Milestone C and into production is arming our warfighters with a capability that increases the lethality of our Carrier Strike Groups. This is a decisive advantage that delivers our warfighters what they need to fight and win.”

The MQ-25 will primarily conduct refueling missions for carrier air wings, freeing up the F/A-18 Super Hornet for its strike mission, and may also complete intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

First tanking, then ISR, and then—yes—those are two hard points.

Strike.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, however. Let’s get them to the fleet and let them experiment with them. A good solution for the fleet now is better than the perfect solution that will never show up.

We can improve it as we go along, or find another platform to replace it as we work with what we’ve got…but no more wasted time.

Let’s get more shadows on the ramp.

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