April 21, 2017
Below Glideslope: The MQ-25 Stingray Appears to be Heading for a Ramp Strike
Even as reports surface of American supercarriers and their embarked air-wings hurriedly steaming towards the Korean peninsula, the saga of the Navy’s carrier based unmanned aircraft program seems to have taken yet another turn for the worse. Instead of adhering to direction by both the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and the Deputy Secretary of Defense to maximize the strike range of the carrier air wing it appears that naval aviation leadership is placing its finger on the MQ-25 design scale and prioritizing unrefueled endurance for the intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance (ISR) mission at the expense of great fuel offload for long-range mission tanking.
During recent discussions naval aviation leaders stated that the threshold requirements for the as yet un-designed MQ-25 would include the ability to remain airborne for 12 hours in order to perform overnight ISR missions while the carrier deck is shut down. This requirement for MQ-25 to “bridge the night” is a “cut and paste” from the Unmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program requirement, which was canceled after a review of Joint ISR capabilities concluded that a carrier-based ISR aircraft wasn’t necessary. The problem for MQ-25? Designing an aircraft to fly 12 hoursunrefueled negatively impacts its ability to carry large fuel (or other) payloads over long distances. During UCLASS, the ISR endurance requirement came at the expense of internal weapons payload. On MQ-25, the 12-hour requirement applies a “tax” on the aircraft’s long-range refueling capacity.
Read the full article at The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
The Surprising Success of U.S. Military Aid to Ukraine
Commentary
Ukraine’s military has defied expectations in its war with Russia, and many analysts attribute its success to U.S. help. But the mere fact of receiving aid is no guarantee of ...
By Rachel Tecott & Polina Beliakova
-
Defense & Aerospace Air Power Podcast with Stacie Pettyjohn and Becca Wasser
Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Air Power podcast, co-hosts Vago Muradian and JJ Gertler review the air war in Ukraine one year into the conflict with...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Becca Wasser
-
Avoiding the Brink
Reports
The United States is entering an unprecedented multipolar nuclear era that is far more complex and challenging than that of the Cold War. This report examines potential trigge...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Hannah Dennis
-
DEFAERO Strategy Series with CNAS' Richard Fontaine
Podcast
On this latest episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Strategy Series, Richard Fontaine, the president and CEO of the Center for a New American Security, discusses key take...
By Richard Fontaine
