The first U.S. Navy MQ-25A Stingray™ has successfully completed its second test flight, marking a critical step forward for the carrier-based aerial refueling drone program. Facilitated by a joint team of Boeing and U.S. Navy Air Vehicle Pilots, the aircraft was commanded from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System MD-5 Ground Control Station located at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. After receiving the commands, the platform autonomously managed its propulsion, subsystems, guidance, and flight controls to execute the mission plan.
Crucially, this second milestone flight featured the aircraft’s first-ever airborne landing gear cycles, successfully validating the drone’s autonomous flight controls and performance during both landing gear up and landing gear down phases. Prior to takeoff, engineers uploaded a revised software package that introduced significant vehicle management system and mission computer improvements. This updated software load is intended to support future flight envelope expansion tests as the program gathers critical aerodynamic and performance data.
The MQ-25 Stingray emerged from the Navy’s Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) program, an initiative that evolved from the earlier Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program. Boeing was selected as the winner of the CBARS competition on August 30, 2018, with the platform logging its maiden flight on September 19, 2019. Powered by a single Rolls-Royce AE 3007N turbofan engine delivering 10,000 lbf (44 kN) of thrust—a variant of the powerplant utilized by the MQ-4C Triton—the Stingray features a stealthy fuselage shape, a flush inlet to reduce radar cross-section, and a V-tail configuration.
As testing continues, the U.S. Navy is simultaneously maturing its operational framework for carrier-borne unmanned aviation. The service established the Unmanned Carrier Launched Multi-Role Squadron 10 (VUQ-10) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, on October 1, 2022, where its four current MQ-25 airframes are being utilized to develop foundational maintenance and operational procedures. Looking ahead, Boeing teams will apply the official U.S. Navy livery to this test aircraft before embarking on additional envelope expansion flights out of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, as the Navy prepares for future maritime strike integration, including potential carriage of the AGM-158C LRASM anti-ship missile.
