Skunk Works®’ MDCX™ controls Boeing MQ-25A™ first flight

MASCOUTAH, Ill., April 22, 2026 — The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® MDCX™ command and control (C2) platform controlled the first flight of the U.S. Navy’s MQ‑25A StingrayTM.

The historic flight, conducted from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, was controlled by the MDCX software platform, which is the backbone of the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) MD-5 Ground Control Station (GCS). MDCX was selected as the ground control component for Boeing’s MQ-25A in 2020.

Why it matters

• The successful first flight underscores UMCS’s ability to command and control the MQ‑25A for the USN and positions MDCX as the foundational C2 platform for the Navy’s Air Wing of the Future.

What Our Partners are Saying

• “Today’s successful first flight relied on the seamless integration between a MQ-25 aircraft and Lockheed Martin’s ground control station,” said Rear Adm. Tony Rossi, who oversees the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons.  “This milestone proves the strength of our partnership in developing the command-and-control infrastructure necessary to operate unmanned platforms safely and effectively from our carriers.”

A Ready-Now Capability

• “Our MDCX open architecture C2 solution integrated seamlessly with a Boeing MQ-25A, delivering secure UAV control for its first flight,” said OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager of Skunk Works. “This achievement is a result of our enduring partnership with the U.S. Navy to expand its capabilities and interoperability by enabling a single carrier-based command station to control multiple uncrewed vehicles to advance its Air Wing of the Future vision.”

This milestone is the latest proof point of MDCX delivering a ready-now, open-architecture, secure C2 and autonomy capability.

photo courtesy Lockheed Martin