The MQ-25 is a multi tasking aircraft with aerial refueling, intelligence surveillance (ISR),electronic attack, and firepower strike capabilitiesUAV. It is currently in the testing phase and is expected to achieve initial operational capability by 2024.The US Navy plans to purchase 76 MQ-25A drones, and the US Air Force also plans to purchase over 70 of these drones. Most of these unmanned aerial vehicles will be produced at Boeing's upcoming new factory in Illinois.

The US Navy believes that over 40% of the aircraft on future aircraft carriers will be drones. Therefore, the US Navy attempted to use MQ-25A drones to explore methods for operating drones within the limited space of aircraft carrier decks. The US Navy clearly sees that the combination of fourth and fifth generation aircraft with unmanned aerial vehicles such as MQ-25 is the key to aircraft carriers' combat effectiveness in the most intense environments of future confrontation, which can improve the survivability and endurance potential of their carrier based aircraft squadrons and reduce platform risks. The US Navy once envisioned that starting from the 2030s, more than half of the air squadrons would beUAVHowever, purchasing in large quantities may not necessarily benefit the navy at present, and it will take another ten years or more to gradually implement.

The unmanned aerial vehicle formation technology used in MQ-25A was developed by the US Navy's Overmatch project, which aims to use artificial intelligence technology to develop a fleet communication network capable of organizing coordinated actions between aircraft, surface vessels, and ground vehicles.

In 2021, the main progress of the MQ-25 project focused on the progress of testing status. On the one hand, three aerial refueling flight tests were carried out in the mid year stage, and the refueling aircraft models included fourth and fifth generation fighter jets and advanced early warning aircraft; On the other hand, ground tests on aircraft carrier maneuvering were conducted in the later stages of the year.

From June to August, Boeing's MQ-25 T1 jet propelled unmanned aerial refueling aircraft completed its first aerial refueling flight test for the US Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter and E-2D Hawkeye early warning aircraft. In September, it completed the aerial refueling flight test of the F-35C Lightning II fighter jet, which is also the third refueling demonstration of the MQ-25 since 2021. This means that the MQ-25 can refuel all carrier based aircraft with refueling capabilities after being put into use.

On November 23rd, the US Navy News website announced that the US Navy and Boeing are conducting ground tests of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refueling aircraft at Chambers Airport in Norfolk, Virginia. The current job is deck transportation, and the testing team has installed a system on the MQ-25 test aircraft that allows forUAVStart the engine, control the taxiing by deck personnel, and draw markings on certain areas of the flight deck to test how the MQ-25 can maneuver on an aircraft carrier. Rear Admiral John Meyer, Commander of the United States Navy's Atlantic Air Forces, once said,"The Stingray is the future of naval aviation,ground testing is another step towards manned unmanned formation, and the integration of carrier based aircraft squadrons with platforms such as the MQ-25 will increase its lethality and accessibility.

On February 18th, it was reported that Astronics had been awarded a contract by Boeing to provide CorePower Electronic Circuit Breaker Units (ECBU) and external lighting equipment for the US Navy's MQ-25 unmanned refueling aircraft.

On March 18th, it was reported that the US Navy plans to deploy 20 MQ-25A Stingray unmanned refueling aircraft, build supporting hangars and training support infrastructure, and equip 730 personnel at the Ventura County base in Point Mugu, California. The planned annual output of MQ-25A unmanned refueling aircraft at the base is around 960 sorties.

On June 4th, the Boeing MQ-25A T1 completed aerial refueling tests on a US Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jet.

On June 15th, the US Navy announced that Congress has requested the Navy to begin adding other capabilities to the MQ-25A unmanned carrier based refueling aircraft, which will join the fleet in the coming years. However, it has not been determined which capabilities to expand.

On August 18th, MQ-25A T1 completed aerial refueling tests on a US Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye carrier based early warning aircraft. The success of this experiment marks the transformation of the E-2D from a super horizon airborne early warning platform limited by the aircraft carrier environment and limited hovering time to a delayed hovering platform that can provide complex combat management capabilities at any location in the battlefield space. Previously, the Boeing R&D team used Nog's portable E-2D early warning aircraft simulator, Boeing's F/A-18 fighter jet, and MQ-25UAVThe simulator demonstrated the technology of manned/unmanned formation (MUM-T) in a virtual environment.

On September 13th, MQ-25A T1 completed its first aerial refueling test of the Lockheed Martin F-35C stealth fighter jet. This is the third aerial refueling test conducted by MQ-25A T1 since 2021.

On September 17th, Boeing announced that it will build the MQ-25TM Stingray carrier based unmanned refueling aircraft production plant at the St. Louis Airport in Muskkuta, Illinois, with plans to complete the new plant construction by 2024. The new factory will use digital engineering technology to produce MQ-25 system components for the US Navy, and utilize robot automation technology for final assembly, which can improve product quality and production efficiency. The new factory covers an area of 300000 square feet (27000 square meters) and will be equipped with 150 technicians,engineers, and employees. If the navy increases orders, the number of new factory personnel will also increase to 300. At this point, Boeing plans to produce the first seven MQ-25 aircraft and two sets of ground testing equipment at its St. Louis factory in Missouri. After leaving the factory, the product will be transported to a new factory in Illinois for flight testing. The MQ-25 project office and core engineering team will continue to stay at the St. Louis plant in Missouri.

On October 26th, the US branch of Italian company SECO announced that the new "Deck Control Device" (DCD) developed for the MQ-25 "Stingray" unmanned refueling aircraft has successfully completed several days of demonstration and verification work.

On November 23rd, the US Navy News website announced that the US Navy and Boeing are conducting ground tests of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned refueling aircraft at Chambers Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.

So far, the MQ-25A T1 has completed 36 flight tests, providing rich aerodynamic, navigation control, and flight dynamics related test data prior to the delivery of the MQ-25 engineering and manufacturing development aircraft. The current progress of the MQ-25 project is mainly focused on the requirements of the US Navy. In the future, the new tanker program that the US Air Force is about to launch may lead to new developments in the MQ-25 project, which also depends on the US Air Force's tanker procurement plan arrangement.

In the future, the US Navy plans to conduct refueling test flights of MQ-25A to other carrier based aircraft with refueling capabilities in the carrier based air squadron, in order to test each aircraftaircraftThe interaction between the aerodynamic structure and the wake of MQ-25, and the need to adjust the navigation control system of MQ-25 through analysis of experimental data. In addition, in the coming months, the US Navy will conduct onboard trials of a new "Deck Control Device" (DCD).

Source: Global Aviation Information