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4d ago

Navy’s MQ-25A Carrier Tanker Completes First Flight, Kicking Off Test Program

The milestone starts formal testing toward carrier qualification this year.

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The Navy's new refueling drone completed its first test flight over the weekend. The MQ-25A Stingray is the Navy's first carrier-based unmanned aircraft.
The Stingray completed its first flight test, a major step in uncrewed refueling from carriers, the Navy said.
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Overview

  • The first production‑representative MQ‑25A flew for about two hours in Illinois on Saturday, demonstrating autonomous taxi, takeoff, flight, and landing to start formal Engineering and Manufacturing Development testing.
  • Air vehicle pilots commanded the drone through the MD‑5 ground control station that uses Lockheed Martin’s MDCX, and the flight validated basic flight controls, navigation, and the Rolls‑Royce AE 3007N engine’s performance.
  • Boeing and the Navy will keep expanding the flight envelope at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport before ferrying the aircraft to Naval Air Station Patuxent River later this year to prepare for carrier qualifications.
  • The aircraft that flew is the first of four Engineering Development Model units under an approximately $805 million contract, part of a larger planned buy intended to support carrier air wing operations.
  • The MQ‑25A is built to take refueling from F/A‑18 Super Hornets and extend the carrier air wing’s range, but new Navy budget documents shift initial operational capability to fiscal 2029, keeping more tanker duty on crewed jets in the near term.