2nd Successful Mid-Air Refueling for Boeing's Unmanned MQ-25 StingrayTM Drone

Intro  

MQ-25™ Stingray

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Description:

The MQ-25™ Stingray will be the world’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft and provide aerial refueling and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities that enhance capability and versatility for the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) and Carrier Strike Group (CSG). Integration of a persistent, sea-based tanker into the CVW will make better use of our combat strike fighters and extend the range of our aircraft carriers. The system will be a critical part of the future CVW and is central to the Navy’s strategic Unmanned Campaign Framework, laying the foundation for all future carrier-based unmanned systems and pioneering the cutting-edge manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) operational concept

The Navy plans for all NIMITZ and FORD-class carriers to eventually be MQ-25 capable.

MQ-25 is comprised of two major segments: The MQ-25 Air System (air vehicle), and the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS), the system required for carrier integration and command and control of the MQ-25 air vehicle and payload. PMA-268 manages these segments as the government Lead Systems Integrator (LSI).

MQ-25 is currently in flight test, gaining valuable early insight from the contractor-owned MQ-25 predecessor, T1. In 2019, the government/industry team conducted its first flight with the MQ-25 T1 test asset. Data from early T1 testing allows for learning and discovery to advance the development of major systems and software, and supports a rapid developmental test program. 

The Navy awarded an Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract to The Boeing Company in August 2018 for the design, development, fabrication, test, delivery, and support of four MQ-25A Engineering Development Models (EDMs). In 2020, the Navy executed a contract option to purchase three additional test aircraft.

Over the next few years, Boeing will deliver the EDM aircraft and testing will occur at its facility in St. Louis, Missouri before transiting to NAS Patuxent River for the duration of the flight test program, with additional testing taking place in Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. 

U.S. Navy, Boeing Score Another MQ-25 First with E-2D Refueling

• MQ-25 T1 unmanned test asset refuels a Navy E-2D command and control aircraft, the second carrier-based aircraft it has refueled to date.

The U.S. Navy and Boeing [NYSE: BA] have completed a second carrier-based aircraft unmanned refueling mission with the Boeing-owned MQ-25TM T1 test asset, this time refueling a Navy E-2D Hawkeye command and control aircraft.

During a test flight from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport on Aug. 18, pilots from the Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-20 conducted a successful wake survey behind MQ-25 T1 to ensure performance and stability before making contact with T1’s aerial refueling drogue. The E-2D received fuel from T1’s aerial refueling store during the flight.

“Once operational the MQ-25 will refuel every receiver-capable platform, including E-2,” said Capt. Chad Reed, the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager. “This flight keeps us on a fast track to getting the Stingray out to the fleet where its refueling capability will greatly increase the range and operational flexibility of the carrier air wing and strike group.”

The MQ-25 StingrayTM will be assigned to the carrier airborne early warning squadron within the carrier air wing, which currently operates the E-2 C/D aircraft – known as the “digital quarterback” of the fleet for its role in joint battle management and command and control.

“It was another great flight showing that our MQ-25 design is performing to plan,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director. “These historic refueling flights provide an incredible amount of data we feed back into the MQ-25 digital models to ensure the aircraft we’re producing will be the Navy’s game-changer for the carrier air wing.”

This is the second aerial refueling mission the MQ-25 team has conducted this summer. On June 4, the MQ-25 T1 test asset became the first unmanned aircraft to refuel another aircraft, a U.S. Navy Super Hornet. Both flights were conducted at operationally relevant speeds and altitudes, with the E-2D and F/A-18 performing maneuvers in close proximity to T1.

Boeing is currently manufacturing the first two of seven MQ-25 test aircraft and two ground test articles currently under contract. The Boeing-owned MQ-25 T1 test asset is a predecessor to these aircraft. The MQ-25 is leveraging advancements in model-based digital engineering and design, and ongoing flights are intended to test aircraft design and performance much earlier than traditional programs.

Source: Boeing
Date: Aug 18, 2021