The U.S. Navy tested its Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station’s (UMCS) ability to command an unmanned aircraft in flight for the first time Nov. 5, paving the way for future unmanned aviation operations.
As part of an effort to advance technology for future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) initiated a joint demonstration between the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program office (PMA-268) and Lockheed Martin’s (LM) Skunk Works® to demonstrate connectivity between the Navy’s UMCS and GA ASI’s CCA technology demonstration surrogate, the MQ-20 Avenger.
PMA-268 used GA-ASI’s MQ-20 to demonstrate how UMCS can command a variety of unmanned aircraft in addition to the MQ-25. Navy Air Vehicle Pilots (AVPs) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland controlled the MQ-20 during its flight from GA-ASI’s test site in California. The UMCS connected Beyond Line of Site (BLOS) to the MQ-20 via a proliferated low Earth orbit (pLEO) satellite constellation and transmitted flight control commands and received mission systems data.
“UMCS is laying a foundation that will enable control of all unmanned carrier aircraft, starting with the MQ-25 aircraft,” said Capt. Daniel Fucito, PMA-268 program manager. “The UMCS opens the door for efficiently introducing future unmanned systems into the complex carrier command and control architecture.”
Laying the groundwork for all future carrier-based UAS operations, UMCS is the system-of-systems required for MQ-25 air vehicle command and control. A key component of UMCS, the MD-5 Ground Control Station includes LM’s Multi-Domain Combat System (MDCX™) autonomy platform, where the AVPs are stationed during flight.
“This was a huge step for unmanned naval aviation,” said Lt. Steven Wilster, MQ-25 AVP. “This demo showcased UMCS’s first live control of an unmanned air vehicle, and it was great to be part of history in the making. The team is paving the way for integrating critical unmanned capability across the joint force to combat the high-end threat our warfighters face today and in the future.”
The U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps are collaborating via a Tri-Service Memorandum of Understanding on critical sub-systems for CCA platforms. The Navy leads the DOD in developing a common control architecture and ground control station (GCS) for these systems, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, leveraging LM’s decades of operational experience in delivering GCSs underpinned by the U.S. Government’s open mission systems architecture for maximum interoperability.
The Navy will use data from the demonstration to refine the program’s requirements and develop key command and control technologies. The team plans to conduct additional digital and live surrogate test flights to demonstrate autonomy, mission systems, crewed-uncrewed teaming, advanced communications and further command and control development.
Photo: MQ-25 Air Vehicle Pilots Lt. Matt Pence (forward) and Lt. Steven Wilster, conduct test run to monitor the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System ground control station, located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., as the system commands the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-20 Avenger surrogate, located at the company’s test facility in California, in preparation for demonstration event in November 2024. – U.S. Navy
Source: NAVAIR