New Delhi, Aug 2026 : The US Navy has taken another step towards integrating unmanned aircraft into carrier operations, with USS Theodore Roosevelt becoming the first American supercarrier to host an Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC). The development is expected to support preparations for the eventual deployment of Boeing’s MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone aboard aircraft carriers.
The move, highlighted in the Pentagon’s Modernized Selected Acquisition Report, underscores the US Navy’s effort to expand the role of unmanned systems in naval aviation despite delays affecting the MQ-25 programme. The drone’s initial operational capability has been pushed to 2029.
The MQ-25 Stingray is primarily designed to serve as an unmanned aerial refuelling tanker, extending the combat radius of carrier-based fighter aircraft and reducing the need for manned fighters to conduct “buddy-buddy” aerial refuelling missions.
The aircraft is also expected to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, allowing carrier strike groups to expand their operational reach while reducing the workload and risk faced by manned aircraft.
The UAWC installed aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt is expected to be replicated on USS Ronald Reagan later this year. The initiative represents a broader transition towards a carrier environment in which unmanned aircraft could routinely operate alongside conventional fighters and other naval aviation assets.
India is pursuing a parallel but somewhat different approach to unmanned carrier aviation. The Indian Navy’s Naval Collaborative Combat Air Vehicle programme, spearheaded by NewSpace Research and Technologies’ Abhimanyu drone, is being developed around a loyal-wingman concept.
Unlike the MQ-25, whose principal role is aerial refuelling, Abhimanyu is intended to work alongside manned fighter aircraft by extending their sensor coverage and undertaking selected high-risk missions.
The system is expected to operate in conjunction with India’s carrier-based MiG-29K fighters and the upcoming Rafale-M fleet, creating a manned-unmanned teaming architecture for future carrier operations.
Artificial intelligence-enabled autonomy is expected to play a central role in the system. By operating with a degree of autonomous decision-making, the unmanned platform could help expand situational awareness, support mission planning and undertake dangerous operations without placing human pilots directly at risk.
The ability of such platforms to operate in contested airspace and potentially engage hostile targets could significantly enhance the flexibility and survivability of Indian carrier strike groups.
Abhimanyu is also being developed with a focus on modularity and cost-effectiveness. It is smaller and lighter than the HAL Warrior being developed for the Indian Air Force’s Combat Air Teaming System, making the naval platform more suitable for deployment from aircraft carriers.
China is pursuing a similar transformation in naval aviation. Its GJ-11 Sharp Sword unmanned combat aircraft is reportedly being adapted for operations from the decks of its next-generation Type-076 aircraft carriers.
The parallel programmes in the United States, India and China reflect a wider shift in naval warfare, with major maritime powers increasingly viewing unmanned aircraft as an important component of future carrier strike groups.
For the US Navy, the MQ-25 represents an effort to increase the endurance and operational reach of carrier-based aviation. India, meanwhile, is placing greater emphasis on tactical collaboration between unmanned platforms and fighter aircraft through the loyal-wingman concept.
The emergence of these technologies could fundamentally reshape carrier aviation by allowing naval forces to distribute missions among manned and unmanned aircraft, improve survivability and operate more effectively in heavily contested maritime environments.
For India, the Abhimanyu programme could therefore become an important component of future carrier aviation, providing additional sensors, operational flexibility and strike options while complementing the Navy’s manned fighter fleet.
(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
