The MQ-25 Stingray is an ongoing project by the U.S. Navy (USN) to meet the need to use unmanned aerial refueling tankers on its massive aircraft carrier fleet.
The program requirements include at least 14,000 pounds of fuel load and a flight distance of 500 miles from the main vessel.
Unveiled on December 19, 2017 by Boeing via press release, the new aircraft showcases a hybrid wing design and swept-back main wings.
The tail wing consists of a pair of surfaces that slope outward.
The landing gear is a wheeled tricycle arrangement for ground operation, with a single wheel on each main leg, while the front legs are reinforced with a two-wheel configuration.
The fuselage is rounded and streamlined, although the front profile is distinctly deep – designed to carry the required avionics, power units and fuel depots.
The MQ-25 needs to sail on the deck of an active aircraft carrier. This requires a unique approach to its intelligent programming.
In addition, when servicing a variety of USN aircraft, most of the aircraft's useful life will be required to run on water – another challenge for the project's engineers.
Special skin coating to combat the Aral Sea environment, day and night combat capabilities, and blocking hooks for aircraft carrier deck landings.
Stingrays need to refuel all types of in-service USN aircraft, an important stepping stone to the future of naval aviation – enabling maritime aircraft to be quickly refueled by unmanned, autonomously aware aircraft.
In addition to fuel delivery capabilities, the MQ-25 is expected to play an auxiliary ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) role and carry radars for maritime operations to support major fleets.
In June 2021, an MQ-25 prototype successfully completed air-to-air refueling operations. The operation, which took place on June 4, 2021, at an altitude of 10,000 feet above Missouri airspace, was the first of its kind.
In September 2021, the MQ-25 refueled the waiting F-35C for the first time.
In December 2021, the MQ-25A has begun deck testing aboard the USS George HW Bush.
