Адмирал Коудл отказался от фиксированной доли беспилотников в пользу гибкой конфигурации авиационных эскадрилий ВМС США

This article is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report part of Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), and is complimentary through Sep 02, 2026. For information on becoming an AWIN Member to access more content like this, click here. RENO, Nevada—The U.S. Navy wants to steam ahead on bringing more uncrewed aircraft into its air wings, but under current Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle that is a different approach than had previously been laid out. Caudle says he wants the composite air wing to be “tailorable” to combatant commander demands, instead of a standard approach across all air wings. Each area of operations has different requirements, so they should be getting different capabilities in a deployment. “That composite of the air wing of the future needs to be flexible and adaptable enough to solve the problem in which it’s being utilized,” Caudle says. In 2022, former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday outlined a plan to have 60% of the carrier air wing uncrewed. This plan came out in the early stages of the Boeing MQ-25 program and as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) was just getting started. Caudle, however, sees it differently. “I don’t know if I can be as articulate to give you a percentage on that. I don’t know that’s even, in my mind, even an appropriate way to think about it, to be honest with you. I don’t really look at it that way,” he said on the sidelines of the Tailhook Symposium here. “My approach has been in the fighting instructions document that I’ve done is that I tailor that force ensemble to solve a combatant commander’s problem. That might be 100% unmanned to solve a problem.” For example, in U.S. Southern Command as it focuses on drug smuggling that would mean more MQ-4 Tritons for maritime awareness and small drones to counter trafficking. But in the Western Pacific, the force need is far different and more crewed combat aircraft will be required at least until CCAs are mature. “I do want to see more of a shift to unmanned,” Caudle says. He also points to a need for large aerial quadcopters to provide supplies to ships to avoid the need for ship-to-ship replenishments. The Boeing MQ-25 is the trailblazer for bringing uncrewed aircraft to carriers, with three test flights now complete. Caudle says he expects the aircraft to be part of air wing predeployment workups in 2027 and it to be certified for deployments in 2028. The MQ-25 is designed to take on the refueling role currently served by F/A-18s, freeing up the Super Hornets for combat operations. It can also eventually fly intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Its potential role as a combat aircraft has also been murky. The Navy has previously said it will not carry weapons, but Boeing and the Navy have shown an MQ-25 test aircraft on a carrier with a joint direct attack munition and on Aug. 24 the Navy said it was awarding a contract to DeVal Life Cycle Support LLC for a weapon skid adapter on the MQ-25. Caudle said Aug. 22 that he sees a potential combat role for the aircraft. “It will extend the range of the striking power of the air wing, and then eventually you're going to see the maturity of that turn in to where we add things to it that it can do things other than just refuel,” he says. “You know, will be, in itself, it could be an ISR platform or a lethal platform. So that that whole track is being looked at with MQ-25.”