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according to media reports, the u.s. navy has deployed the first complete and dedicated unmanned air combat center (uawc) on the uss george h.w. bush (cvn-77), making the uss george h.w. bush the first u.s. aircraft carrier to be equipped with an unmanned air combat center. this has once again made the topic of drones on board a focus of attention.

important role in future naval warfare

with the development of related technologies, the deployment of drones on ships has become a general trend. in future naval battles, ship-borne drones will play multiple roles and become new important roles.

the first role of drones in the naval battlefield is battlefield reconnaissance and cruising. in maritime operations, the distance of ships' movements and the ability to obtain intelligence information are limited, making it difficult to obtain complete war information, and the overall combat effectiveness of the fleet cannot be fully exerted. satellites and manned carrier-based aircraft can only solve part of the problem. however, ship-borne drones can carry out real-time reconnaissance and surveillance of airspace and sea areas where conflicts occur by carrying a variety of sensing equipment such as optoelectronic sensors, airborne phased array radars, and synthetic aperture radars. in addition, ship-borne drones can achieve all-weather and ultra-long-term cruising and reconnaissance through technologies such as autonomous aerial refueling and solar panels.

the u.s. navy's mq-25 unmanned aerial refueling tanker is tested aboard an aircraft carrier.

the second function is electronic suppression and jamming in the air. in air defense suppression, aircraft carrier-based drones can be launched into the air to conduct jamming, which can expand the jamming distance and enhance the jamming effect, causing the enemy fleet's air defense information network to be confused and misjudged. in addition, aircraft carrier-based drones can also carry throwable jammers and accurately drop them into the enemy's target sea area. at the same time, drones can increase the radar cross-section by carrying corner reflectors, luneburg lenses and other equipment, simulating the radar characteristic signals emitted by manned aircraft, which can attract the opponent's early warning system and implement deception.

the third role is beyond visual range combat. the communication relay function of ship-borne drones can provide guidance information for beyond visual range attack missiles, reducing the need for target accuracy information when launching missiles, thereby extending the missile attack distance and improving attack effectiveness; or drones can use laser indicators to illuminate targets, accurately guide missiles, and track and measure the damage effects after the attack.

the fourth role is anti-submarine warfare. aviation anti-submarine warfare has the characteristics of fast response speed, large range of activities and flexible search and attack methods. it is one of the most effective anti-submarine forces against submarines. compared with manned anti-submarine aircraft, drone anti-submarine warfare has the advantages of long range, long air time and no fatigue. it can monitor or block various sensitive waters around the clock and is an effective supplement to the anti-submarine network. when the enemy submarine activity area is far away from the coast or is covered by air defense forces, drones can go forward a long distance to perform anti-submarine combat missions. this can expand the anti-submarine range on the one hand and reduce the risks faced by the anti-submarine aircraft on the other.

in addition, with the advancement of ai (artificial intelligence) technology, it will no longer be a fantasy for ship-borne drones to engage in direct air combat with enemy aerial targets in the future.

drones on aircraft carriers are becoming more and more important. the picture shows the us "mojave" drone being tested on a british aircraft carrier.

the "nerve center" that coordinates ship-borne drone operations

the unmanned air combat center on the uss bush mentioned in the news is located in the control room of the aircraft carrier. it is a fully operational and integrated unmanned aviation mission control system composed of hardware and software systems. according to information, the core of the unmanned air combat center is a set of unmanned aerial vehicle ground control stations called md-5e, which is one of the improved versions of the md-5 series unmanned aerial vehicle ground control stations. it is reported that the md-5 series unmanned aerial vehicle ground control stations have been led by the us navy since 2010. they are mainly composed of the multi-domain combat system developed by the skunk works of lockheed martin corporation in the united states, the control station power system, and additional hardware support equipment such as display and control equipment.

the role of the unmanned air combat center on an aircraft carrier is mainly to serve as the "nerve center" for controlling ship-borne drones, and to control these drones to perform tasks such as land/sea strikes, anti-submarine, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (isr) and aerial refueling. the drones it controls include the mq-25 unmanned aerial refueling aircraft and the "carrier-borne collaborative combat aircraft" under development. some analysts believe that installing an unmanned air combat center will allow the us military to better coordinate and carry out various types of tasks between ship-borne drones or between ship-borne drones and manned aircraft, thereby improving its ship-borne drone collaborative combat capabilities and optimizing the scheduling and use efficiency of ship-borne drones. at the same time, the unmanned air combat center can quickly integrate and analyze various battlefield information obtained by ship-borne drones, thereby helping aircraft carrier commanders improve their perception of battlefield situations and decision-making speed, and enhance the information level of aircraft carriers.

for example, the main strike force of an aircraft carrier battle group comes from carrier-based aircraft, and carrier-based tankers, as "air cows", are a powerful guarantee for fighter jets. in the past, the us military has long used fighter jets to mount refueling pods for "buddy refueling", but this has reduced the number of fighter jets used for combat and weakened aviation combat power. at present, boeing's mq-25 "stingray" will be the first drone to be put on board by the us military. as the next generation of carrier-based unmanned tankers of the us navy and the first carrier-based drone on a us aircraft carrier, the mq-25 is equipped with a rolls-royce ae 3007n turbofan engine with a maximum thrust of 4,500 kg, and the maximum take-off weight is estimated to be around 20 tons. due to the cancellation of the life support system and bomb bay, the mq-25 fuel load factor can be maximized. the combat radius of the "super hornet" can be expanded from 830 kilometers to more than 1,300 kilometers through one refueling, and a total of 6,800 kg of fuel can be delivered to 4 to 6 fighter jets over the sea area 930 kilometers away from the aircraft carrier. it can be imagined that in future operations, the unmanned air combat center will be able to more effectively coordinate and plan refueling operations between the mq-25 and manned carrier-based aircraft. this will not only increase the range of fighter jets and extend their airborne time, but also allow the us military to focus more manned fighter jets on more important tasks.

türkiye plans to convert amphibious assault ship into drone carrier.

according to the plan of the us navy, in addition to the uss bush, all future us navy nimitz-class aircraft carriers and ford-class aircraft carriers will be equipped with unmanned air combat centers. among them, the uss carl vinson (hull number cvn-70), the uss roosevelt (hull number cvn-71) and the uss ronald reagan (hull number cvn-76) plan to install unmanned air combat centers in fiscal year 2025 (the us navy's current amphibious assault ships may also install dedicated unmanned air combat centers in the future). at the same time, in early 2025, the us navy will also conduct the first sea test of the unmanned air combat center of the uss bush and the corresponding combat network. at that time, the carrier-based drone pilots from the us navy's 10th carrier multi-purpose uav squadron will control the md-5e drone ground control station in the unmanned air combat center on the aircraft carrier for the first time, and use the relevant software and hardware equipment in the unmanned air combat center to communicate with the simulated aircraft in the paxson river laboratory.

in addition, as the u.s. military increasingly favors carrier-based drones, "drone carriers" may also receive more attention. as the name implies, drone carriers use drones as their main carrier-based aircraft, and turkey's "anadolu" is the world's first drone carrier. the "anadolu" has a displacement of about 27,000 tons and was originally prepared for the f-35, but as turkey and the united states became hostile, it missed the f-35b vertical take-off and landing fighter. turkey decided to use attack drones as the main carrier-based aircraft and transform the "anadolu" into a drone carrier. it is reported that the "anadolu" can accommodate 30 to 50 turkish self-developed tb-3 drones, and can control at least 10 armed drones for combat at the same time. it will also be equipped with "red apple" stealth drones and "freedom" light fighters.

due to the elimination of the "human" factor, under the condition of the same tonnage, carrier-based drones have stronger strike capability, higher maneuverability, larger combat radius, and better stealth. moreover, the structure of carrier-based drones is simpler, the fuselage is more compact, and the occupied area after the wings are folded is much smaller than that of traditional carrier-based aircraft, which can increase the number of drones carried by aircraft carriers. for drone carriers, under the condition of carrying the same number of carrier-based aircraft, the size of the aircraft carrier can be smaller and the tonnage can be lower, which can effectively reduce the cost of the aircraft carrier and reduce the pressure on the navy's funding. and as the us military takes new steps in the field of carrier-based drones in the future, some countries that are eager to have carrier-based aviation but are short of money may also follow suit and set off a new wave of research and development of "drone carriers."