In May, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced during a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing that the MQ-25A was moving into the low-rate initial production and deployment phase.

The aircraft is intended to relieve the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornets of the aerial refueling role, freeing up F/A-18E/F aircraft to focus on strike missions.

The memo, dated April 21, 2026, was recently published by the Pentagon within a Modernized Selected Acquisition Report. It was first reported by The War Zone.

The report notes that in March 2026, the USS Theodore Roosevelt Unmanned Air Warfare Center “became the first fully operational/deployable MQ-25 capable aircraft carrier,” with another UAWC aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan slated “to be operational/deployable at the end of [August] 2026.”

The Nimitz-class carrier USS George H.W. Bush was the first aircraft carrier on which the UAWC was installed and tested back in August 2024.

According to the Navy, the integrated Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System and the MD-5E Ground Control Station are the systems required for the MQ-25 air vehicle command and control — and are critical to the unmanned aircraft refueler’s operations.

In May, the Stingray reached milestone C, which in the defense acquisition process authorizes a program to transition from the engineering and manufacturing development, or EMD, phase into production and deployment, a process that in this instance has been nearly eight years in the making.

Inked in 2018, the $805 million Boeing-Navy contract covered the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four Stingray aircraft, a program that the service at the time estimated would cost about $13 billion for 72 aircraft, according to previous Military Times coverage.

Despite its first test flight running a year later than previously planned, on April 25 the Stingray inched closer to operability after completing an approximately two-hour flight around Mascoutah, Illinois.

With the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the fold and able to support MQ-25 operations, deploying the unmanned refueling drone is seemingly only a matter of time.

In May, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced during a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing that the MQ-25A was moving into the low-rate initial production and deployment phase.

The aircraft is intended to relieve the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornets of the aerial refueling role, freeing up F/A-18E/F aircraft to focus on strike missions.

The memo, dated April 21, 2026, was recently published by the Pentagon within a Modernized Selected Acquisition Report. It was first reported by The War Zone.

The report notes that in March 2026, the USS Theodore Roosevelt Unmanned Air Warfare Center “became the first fully operational/deployable MQ-25 capable aircraft carrier,” with another UAWC aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan slated “to be operational/deployable at the end of [August] 2026.”

The Nimitz-class carrier USS George H.W. Bush was the first aircraft carrier on which the UAWC was installed and tested back in August 2024.

According to the Navy, the integrated Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System and the MD-5E Ground Control Station are the systems required for the MQ-25 air vehicle command and control — and are critical to the unmanned aircraft refueler’s operations.

In May, the Stingray reached milestone C, which in the defense acquisition process authorizes a program to transition from the engineering and manufacturing development, or EMD, phase into production and deployment, a process that in this instance has been nearly eight years in the making.

Inked in 2018, the $805 million Boeing-Navy contract covered the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four Stingray aircraft, a program that the service at the time estimated would cost about $13 billion for 72 aircraft, according to previous Military Times coverage.

Despite its first test flight running a year later than previously planned, on April 25 the Stingray inched closer to operability after completing an approximately two-hour flight around Mascoutah, Illinois.

With the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the fold and able to support MQ-25 operations, deploying the unmanned refueling drone is seemingly only a matter of time.

In May, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced during a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing that the MQ-25A was moving into the low-rate initial production and deployment phase.

The aircraft is intended to relieve the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornets of the aerial refueling role, freeing up F/A-18E/F aircraft to focus on strike missions.

The memo, dated April 21, 2026, was recently published by the Pentagon within a Modernized Selected Acquisition Report. It was first reported by The War Zone.

The report notes that in March 2026, the USS Theodore Roosevelt Unmanned Air Warfare Center “became the first fully operational/deployable MQ-25 capable aircraft carrier,” with another UAWC aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan slated “to be operational/deployable at the end of [August] 2026.”

The Nimitz-class carrier USS George H.W. Bush was the first aircraft carrier on which the UAWC was installed and tested back in August 2024.

According to the Navy, the integrated Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System and the MD-5E Ground Control Station are the systems required for the MQ-25 air vehicle command and control — and are critical to the unmanned aircraft refueler’s operations.

In May, the Stingray reached milestone C, which in the defense acquisition process authorizes a program to transition from the engineering and manufacturing development, or EMD, phase into production and deployment, a process that in this instance has been nearly eight years in the making.

Inked in 2018, the $805 million Boeing-Navy contract covered the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four Stingray aircraft, a program that the service at the time estimated would cost about $13 billion for 72 aircraft, according to previous Military Times coverage.

Despite its first test flight running a year later than previously planned, on April 25 the Stingray inched closer to operability after completing an approximately two-hour flight around Mascoutah, Illinois.

With the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the fold and able to support MQ-25 operations, deploying the unmanned refueling drone is seemingly only a matter of time.

Just six years ago, President Donald Trump paid tribute to that legacy when he signed the original “Great American Outdoors Act” into law. That bill established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), which budgeted for countless infrastructure projects within our most precious landscapes. But that program expired last year, threatening the future of America’s natural inheritance.

As our country celebrates its 250th birthday, Congress should reauthorize the LRF, one of the most successful conservation achievements of Trump’s first term, by passing the Great American Outdoors Act 250 (GAOA 250). At a time when Americans are visiting their national parks in record numbers and the deferred maintenance backlog has grown to more than $40 billion, renewing the fund is an essential component of responsible stewardship.

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Setting an important precedent, President Theodore Roosevelt was vocal about this kind of stewardship of public lands and conserving what he called America’s “glorious heritage.” His legacy, including the dramatic expansion of national parks and creation of dozens of monuments and wildlife refuges, shines as a guiding example of conservative tradition.

The future of that tradition stands at a crossroads.

A failing sewage system at Yellowstone or Yosemite threatens wildlife and ranchers alike. Washed-out trails in the Sierras mean fewer opportunities to connect with family in the great outdoors. And lack of maintenance leaves our beloved forests vulnerable to devastating wildfires. Ensuring these issues are handled is the basic tenets of caring for America’s greatest natural treasures.

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In late June, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced the GAOA 250 under the leadership of Republican Chairman Bruce Westerman, who hails from “The Natural State” of Arkansas. GAOA 250 reauthorizes the LRF at $1.9 billion annually for another five years while prioritizing mission-critical infrastructure and requiring a public dashboard so taxpayers can track every project. The legislation also includes a much overdue, and overlooked, provision.

International visitors enjoy the same park experiences as their American counterparts, yet they do not contribute to the tax revenues to sustain them. American citizens subsidize the international visitor fee gap when they both pay their federal taxes and pay the entrance fees. The foreign visitor surcharge, originally introduced in West Virginia Republican Rep. Riley Moore’s and Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks’s PATRIOT Parks legislation, now a component of GAOA 250, would correct this imbalance.

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From Ecuador to New Zealand, countries across the world charge international visitors a premium to access their treasured lands. In that spirit, President Trump ordered a foreign visitor fee through executive action. But the next administration could easily rescind that order, making permanent legislation vital. The GAOA 250 foreign visitor surcharge would return 80% of the proceeds directly to the parks from which they were collected — proceeds to help clear trails, repair facilities and ensure fire prevention maintenance.

Two hundred fifty years ago, the Founders staked everything to secure this land for posterity. The rivers and the valleys, the mountains and the deserts they died for, are now in our keeping. We must care for them with the same sense of duty born in 1776.

President Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children.” Passing the Great American Outdoors Act 250 is a fitting birthday gift to our great nation and a promise that the profound treasures of the first 250 years will stand for the 250 to come.

Chris Barnard is the president of the American Conservation Coalition Action (ACC Action). 

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