US aircraft carrier gets UAV C2 centre
The USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), a US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, has been outfitted with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) command centre. This the first UAV command centre to be installed in a US aircraft carrier.
The UAV suite was installed during the ship's recent Chief of Naval Operations Planned Incremental Availability (PIA). All phases of installation are scheduled to complete by 2022.
The installation marks the start of the phased implementation of the MQ-XX system on an aircraft carrier. This programme aims to deliver a high-endurance UAV to replace the F/A-18E/F aircraft's role as the aerial tanker for the navy's carrier air wing. It will also provide sea-based persistent ISR capabilities. The goal is for MQ-XX to be operational in the mid-2020s.
Capt Beau Duarte, program manager of Unmanned Carrier Aviation program office (PMA-268), said: ‘This marks the start of a phased implementation of the MQ-XX system on an aircraft carrier. The lessons learned and ground-breaking work done here will go on to inform and influence future installations on other aircraft carriers.’
Capt. Karl Thomas, commanding officer, USS Carl Vinson, said: ‘We are carving out precious real estate on board the carrier, knowing that the carrier of the future will have manned and unmanned systems on it. This suite is an incremental step necessary to extend performance, efficiency and enhance safety of aerial refueling and reconnaissance missions that are expending valuable flight hours on our strike-fighter aircraft, the F/A-18 Echoes and Foxtrots.’
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