US Rushing Drones To Carriers To Blunt China's Missile Edge

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Against this backdrop, the US Navy's historically slow adoption of unmanned systems is accelerating. Carrier deck space and integration hurdles once made the service hesitant, but it is now leveraging the US Air Force's progress on CCAs to mitigate risk and cost.

Political pressure has also catalyzed the push: in June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order expanding drone procurement , while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth followed in July with a memo dismantling restrictive policies and urging rapid acquisition.

Analysts argue the first wave of CCAs will act as risk-worthy teammates for manned aircraft. Naval analyst Bryan Clark says the drones provide a short-term solution by extending strike range and enhancing versatility across intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and even air-to-air combat.

He notes that with limited deck spots, every aircraft must produce multiple effects, and CCAs are being designed for modularity-capable of scouting on one mission, jamming on another, and striking on a third.

The urgency stems from the limitations of today's air wing. Vice Admiral Dan Cheever pointed out in a July 2025 article in Proceedings that the first F/A-18As entered service four decades ago, tying the fleet to legacy concepts.

Clark and Timothy Walton of the Hudson Institute emphasize that operating F/A-18s and F-35Cs at safe distances-1,800 to 2,700 kilometers to avoid Chinese missile salvos-requires heavy aerial refueling, which clogs decks with tankers and siphons away strike capacity.

They judge the jets as too slow, too conspicuous and too short-ranged to challenge China's integrated defenses, forcing reliance on costly standoff munitions. Even with the MQ-25 tanker, they argue, the air wing remains misaligned to Pacific distances.

The US Navy's own planning acknowledges these constraints. Its Aviation Vision 2030–2035 casts the F/A-XX as the future core of the air wing, with more extended range, higher speed, advanced sensors, and integration with next-generation weapons.

Paired with the F-35C, the document notes the F/A-XX would act as the“quarterback” of manned-unmanned teams, directing CCAs into contested environments while reducing risk to crews. Though still in the design phase, the US Air Force has already test-flown a YFQ-42A CCA prototype , adding momentum to a carrier-capable version.

Carrier air wings of the future may be up to 40% unmanned , with new CCA missions introduced incrementally: first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), then electronic warfare, and then strike.

This phased approach lowers risk while freeing manned fighters for high-value missions. The MQ-25's organic tanking role accelerates this shift, relieving manned jets from refueling duties and enabling distributed, networked operations across the wing.

Yet the road is fraught with obstacles. Breaking Defense recently noted that designing autonomous aircraft capable of carrier takeoff, landing, and deck handling is a uniquely complex challenge.

The report says standards for autonomy, payload integration and mission planning are still in flux. It also states that cost pressures loom, with affordability driving the US Navy to favor expendable, multi-mission drones with shorter lifespans over exquisite but scarce designs.