- Pentagon Sees Swarms of Cheap Drones Over Handful of Expensive Fighter Jets
- The decks of aircraft carriers will soon be filled with robots performing eight different combat jobs.
- The US Navy’s next fighter wing could fly alone from takeoff to target and back
The US Navy has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking a new family of carrier-based drones that would operate alongside manned aircraft while supporting missions across the full range of naval combat operations.
The service wants these systems to fly from Ford- and Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carriers, while some designs could operate from smaller vessels.
Its requirements seek industry proposals for platforms capable of performing eight missions, including strikes against ships and land targets, anti-submarine warfare, air combat, electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
The Navy seeks autonomous aircraft for eight missions
The aircraft would also support aerial refueling and refueling missions for naval task forces, creating a broad set of requirements for a single aircraft or a family of connected systems.
Attack variants must have a minimum range of 1,000 nautical miles, equivalent to approximately 1,150 miles.
The service also wants advanced autonomy for aircraft carrier operations, mission changes and in-flight threat prevention.
The proposed systems must support automated aerial refueling and remain compatible with existing unmanned aircraft control systems.
The Navy is seeking “massive affordable and risk-tolerant platforms” capable of addressing current and emerging threats, pointing toward affordable aircraft designed to be produced in larger quantities than traditional high-cost fighter jets.
Future aircraft carrier wings could depend on scalable drone fleets
The RFI asks companies to explain how their production methods could rapidly expand during a surge while keeping recurring flight and maintenance costs within sustainable limits.
Manufacturers must also describe ways to reduce maintenance demands and utilize existing naval supply networks.
The Navy is also open to aircraft that can operate from platforms beyond its largest aircraft carriers: Vertical take-off and landing UAVs could fly from destroyers, expeditionary sea bases and other ships with suitable aviation facilities.
“The Navy is interested in novel concepts that can operate from any air-capable platform,” the RFI states, including destroyers and mobile sea bases.
This could give naval commanders more options for deploying autonomous aircraft in different maritime environments.
The Future Family of Systems Air Wing is part of the Trump administration’s Golden Fleet expansion plan.
Existing related programs include the MQ-25A Stingray tanker and the Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiative.
The RFI also asks companies to explain the planned capital investments and internal research commitments necessary to mature their designs.
Navy requirements suggest that future carrier aviation could combine advanced manned aircraft with larger fleets of autonomous systems designed for scale and operational risk tolerance.
Via Defense News
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