The US Navy is gearing up for a major milestone in unmanned aviation, with the service’s “Air Boss” confirming plans to conduct the first test flight of the Boeing-built MQ-25 unmanned aerial tanker this year, ahead of its expected deployment on aircraft carriers by 2026.
The MQ-25, also dubbed Stingray, is engineered to function as an unmanned tanker, providing essential refueling support to the strike fighter fleet while also offering secondary capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
The US Navy took delivery of its first MQ-25 Stingray in February 2024. Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander of Naval Air Forces and known as the “Air Boss” for his role as the senior operational aviator, voiced confidence in the Navy’s capability to smoothly integrate the new tanker into the air wing.
“We will fly MQ-25 in 25. You can quote me on that. We will fly that platform in 25 and get that thing on a carrier in 26 and start integrating [it]. That unlocks the future of manned-unmanned teaming,” Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever was quoted saying.
“We’re going after that thing in a big way so we can do manned-unmanned teaming off an aircraft carrier, and that is a different world,” he added.
Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever highlighted that this initiative will lay the foundation for the future of sixth-generation collaborative combat aircraft and beyond.
In 2018, Boeing won an $805 million contract to produce the first four MQ-25 Stingrays, emerging victorious in a competitive bid that also included General Atomics and Lockheed Martin.
Boeing has already successfully completed multiple tests with its MQ-25 prototypes. In September 2019, the company conducted the MQ-25’s first flight.
In 2021, the MQ-25 test asset was effectively integrated into a carrier setting, with a demonstration aboard the USS George H.W. Bush validating the performance, capabilities, and handling features of the unmanned aircraft’s deck handling system.
Last year, the service announced that it had finished installing the first carrier-based control room designed to operate the MQ-25 aboard the USS George H. W. Bush. Now, Navy officials have set 2025 as the year for their own test flights with the aircraft.
Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever expressed strong confidence in the Navy’s ability to integrate the MQ-25 into the air wing despite the inherent challenges of working with unmanned technology and the complexities of landing aircraft on a carrier’s flight deck.
He assured that, although these obstacles are significant, the Navy is well-prepared to overcome them and seamlessly incorporate the unmanned tanker into its operations.
MQ-25 Stingray
The MQ-25 Stingray is a critical component of the US Navy’s efforts to address several key operational challenges. Its primary role is to relieve the F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet from the refueling mission, a task that has long been vital to the Navy’s strategy for overcoming its persistent strike-fighter shortfall.
By taking over this responsibility, the MQ-25 is expected to heavily improve the Navy’s operational efficiency and extend the range and capability of its air wings.
In addition to its refueling capabilities, the MQ-25 is breaking new ground as an unmanned, carrier-based aircraft. While the Navy has explored the idea of unmanned systems for years, the MQ-25 represents a major step toward integrating such technologies into active service.
One of the key features of the MQ-25 is its potential ability to be controlled mid-flight by a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft. Such capability will help pilots to re-task the MQ-25 while in flight, which is particularly important given the Navy’s assumption that future battlefields will be heavily contested in terms of communications.
In scenarios where shipboard controllers lose contact or permission to communicate with the MQ-25, a pilot in a nearby manned aircraft can redirect the unmanned tanker without relying on the ship’s control.
However, the MQ-25 program has faced some delays. Initially, the Navy had planned for the aircraft to reach initial operational capability (IOC), which signifies the aircraft is ready for deployment in 2024.
Due to program setbacks, this timeline has now shifted to fiscal year 2025, pushing back the anticipated fielding of the aircraft.
The US Navy is pushing toward increasing the presence of uncrewed systems on its aircraft carriers, with air wings expected to become predominantly uncrewed over the next decade. The MQ-25 is set to play an important role in this transition, serving as a foundational platform for regular carrier drone operations.
Many of the operational and command-and-control procedures developed through the MQ-25 program will not only be refined for the Stingray but also serve as a blueprint for the development of more advanced, high-performance drone aircraft in the future.
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