The MQ-25 Stingray and the F/A-18 pilot who flies a drone from the cockpit

The MQ-25 Stingray, built by Boeing, is the U.S. Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft — and its most radical feature isn’t autonomy. It’s that the pilot controlling the drone is simultaneously flying an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the same cockpit, issuing commands to the Stingray while executing their own mission. This manned-unmanned teaming concept represents the most significant shift in carrier aviation since the angled flight deck.

Why the Navy Needed a Dedicated Unmanned Tanker

The carrier air wing has long needed a purpose-built refueling platform. Currently, Super Hornets burn flight hours and airframe life performing the “buddy tanking” mission — hauling fuel pods instead of weapons. The MQ-25 takes over that role with an unmanned platform that doesn’t fatigue, doesn’t require a second crew, and frees strike fighters to carry out their primary combat mission.

But the Stingray’s scope extends beyond aerial refueling. The Navy and Boeing are designing it as a force multiplier capable of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), communications relay, and other mission sets the Navy has been deliberately vague about.

How a Pilot Controls a Drone While Flying a Fighter Jet

The control architecture is built around manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T). The F/A-18 pilot doesn’t fly the Stingray stick-and-rudder — that would be impossible while simultaneously operating a carrier-based fighter. Instead, the interface is task-based. The pilot issues high-level commands: go to a waypoint, orbit at a specific altitude, refuel a designated aircraft. The Stingray’s autonomous systems handle navigation, station-keeping, and the actual flying.

The pilot functions as a mission commander, not a second set of hands on a second set of controls. The Super Hornet’s cockpit displays are being modified to integrate Stingray command and control alongside the pilot’s own tactical picture — radar, situational awareness, threat warnings, and the unmanned aircraft’s status all visible on the same glass panel. The Stingray itself may be 50 or 100 miles away, executing its assigned tasks autonomously.

The Workload Challenge and What Testing Has Revealed

The central human factors question is straightforward: how much can one pilot manage? An F/A-18 aviator is already handling their own aircraft, weapons systems, communications, and tactical picture. Adding drone command to that list is a significant ask.

The Navy has been running integration testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and aboard carriers to answer this question. Early feedback, from what has been made public, indicates the task-based interface keeps workload manageable. The pilot isn’t trying to fly two aircraft — they’re managing a mission that includes an unmanned asset. The distinction matters.

Autonomous Aerial Refueling: Already Demonstrated

Boeing completed the first carrier-based flight testing of the MQ-25 in 2022, and developmental testing has continued since. The Stingray has demonstrated autonomous aerial refueling with manned aircraft — an unmanned airplane flying in close formation with a manned fighter, trailing a refueling drogue, and transferring fuel. Autonomously. On a moving ship at sea.

The MQ-25 is expected to reach initial operational capability (IOC) within the next few years, making it the first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft in the Navy’s inventory — not a demonstrator or prototype, but a fleet asset integrated into the carrier air wing.

What This Means for General Aviation and the National Airspace

The technology driving the Stingray — autonomous sense-and-avoid, task-based command interfaces, manned-unmanned teaming — will migrate to the civilian world. It always does. GPS started as a military system. Traffic awareness technology descended from military identification friend-or-foe systems. The eventual integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace will borrow heavily from what the Navy is learning now.

The airspace management implications are significant. The FAA is already developing beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) rules for commercial drones. A carrier flight deck during cyclic operations is one of the most demanding aviation environments on Earth, and the Navy is integrating unmanned aircraft into that mix. Lessons learned about deconfliction, autonomous decision-making, and failure modes feed directly into the broader conversation about shared airspace.

There is also a philosophical dimension. The definition of “pilot” is evolving in real time. An F/A-18 aviator commanding a Stingray is still making tactical decisions, managing risk, and directing assets — but for an aircraft they are not physically inside. As autonomous systems become more capable and affordable, general aviation will face similar questions about what it means to be in command.

Key Takeaways

• The MQ-25 Stingray is controlled by F/A-18 pilots in flight, using a task-based interface rather than stick-and-rudder control, keeping workload manageable through high-level mission commands.
• The primary mission is aerial refueling, replacing Super Hornets in the buddy tanking role and freeing strike fighters for combat operations, with ISR and communications relay as additional capabilities.
• Autonomous aerial refueling has already been demonstrated during carrier-based flight testing, with initial operational capability expected in the coming years.
• Manned-unmanned teaming technology will influence civilian aviation, from airspace integration rules to the eventual role of autonomous systems in general aviation.
• The carrier flight deck is gaining its first unmanned operational aircraft, fundamentally changing the logistics, manning, and mission planning of carrier air wing operations.