US Navy supercarrier gets drone command center that will operate $136 million 'Stingray' drones

• The US Navy has installed a new drone control center on the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier.
• The command center will operate MQ-25 "Stingray" drones.
• Drones are becoming increasingly important in modern warfare.

The US Navy has installed a new drone command center on board the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) aircraft carrier, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said in a press release .

The Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC) will operate MQ-25 "Stingray" drones — $136 million unmanned aircraft systems that will be used to refuel fighter jets such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet, the EA-18G Growler, and the F-35C in the air, extending the Navy's strike range.

Capt. Daniel Fucito, the program manager for the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Program, said the control center "lays the foundation for how the U.S. Navy will operate and control unmanned aircraft, and perhaps other unmanned vehicles."

"These systems will initially support the MQ-25 but also future unmanned systems such as Collaborative Combat Aircraft that comprise the Air Wing of the Future," he added.

The UAWC's operational networks will undergo at-sea testing early next year.

The Boeing-made MQ-25 drone is set to hit Initial Operational Capability in 2026.

The drone, which is 51 feet long and has a range of around 580 miles, will be "the world's first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft," according to NAVAIR.

It comes amid a wider push by the Department of Defense to upgrade the US's drone capabilities.

Drones have become an increasingly core part of modern warfare, with the Russia-Ukraine war in particular putting the unmanned systems under the spotlight.

The US Navy has also been embroiled in a drone battle with the Houthi rebels over the Red Sea.

The Yemeni group began attacking shipping with drones and missiles in the region in October in a show of support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas in its conflict with Israel.

Bryan Clark, a former Navy submariner and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute previously told the Associated Press that the US Navy was facing "the most sustained combat" it has seen since World War II as it battled the group's attacks.