Lockheed Martin has doubled the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray command-and-control capacity by standing up a second operational MD-5C Ground Control Station powered by its Skunk Works MDCX autonomy platform. The new system on USS Ronald Reagan follows the first operational MD-5C aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, giving the Navy two carrier-based unmanned aircraft control centres within five months.
The MD-5C sits in the Unmanned Air Warfare Center, the onboard command hub for unmanned carrier aviation, and uses MDCX as the mission planning and execution software for MQ-25A operations. The system combines government C4I network infrastructure, Lockheed Martin software and hardware, and additional government-produced equipment. Navy operators use it to command and control the MQ-25A for aerial refuelling missions, supporting the programme’s goal of extending carrier air wing reach and freeing manned aircraft for higher-priority tasks.
Lockheed Martin presents the MD-5C as a ready-now, open-architecture command-and-control solution, while the Navy views the dual-carrier deployment as another step towards broader integration of unmanned carrier aviation into the fleet. The MQ-25A remains central to that effort as the service moves to field an unmanned tanker capability for carrier operations.