USS Ronald Reagan Now Ready to Fly MQ-25A Stingray, Three Years Before IOC

USS Ronald Reagan has received the Unmanned Air Warfare Center needed to control MQ-25A Stingray aircraft, becoming the second US carrier equipped with the facility after USS Theodore Roosevelt. Installation was completed in August during a 17-month maintenance period that included 11 associated modifications. The center integrates the Navy’s MD-5 carrier ground control station and Lockheed Martin’s mission-control technology, with pier-side and at-sea validation supporting readiness for future operations. The milestone prepares the carrier’s command infrastructure ahead of the MQ-25’s planned 2029 initial operational capability and does not indicate that Stingrays are already operating from the ship.