AIBRIEF
The MQ 25A Stingray is Boeing's carrier based tanker drone; Theodore Roosevelt is now its first carrier, but the milestone for declaring the drone carrier ready has slipped to 2029.
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) is now the first US aircraft carrier with a permanent, fully operational drone control room, according to a Pentagon acquisition document dated April 21, 2026 (Defense News). The Unmanned Air Warfare Center (UAWC) is the room from which the crew will command the MQ-25A Stingray, Boeing's carrier-based tanker drone, directly from the flight deck.
Until now, the Navy treated carrier drone control as a temporary addition. USS George H.W. Bush received the first UAWC in August 2024 for testing, but the center only reached fully operational and deployable status on Theodore Roosevelt (The War Zone). The MQ-25A program crossed Milestone C in May 2026, the formal step from development into production and deployment after nearly eight years of work (TechRadar).
The rest of the carrier force is catching up faster than the program. USS Ronald Reagan is scheduled to have its own UAWC ready toward the end of August 2026. USNI News reported on April 27, 2026 that the MQ-25A's Initial Operational Capability has slipped to 2029, even as the production aircraft completed its first flight (USNI News). A Congressional Research Service brief on the program's open issues is at CRS IF12972.