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2d ago

Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray Completes First Autonomous Taxi Test

The low-speed run moves the carrier-based refueling drone toward initial flight testing early this year.

The production representative MQ-25A Stingray being towed following the test at MidAmerica Airport in Missouri. (Image credit: Boeing)
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Overview

  • The production-representative aircraft taxied at Boeing’s MidAmerica St. Louis Airport site on Jan. 30 after a remote start from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System.
  • Air Vehicle Pilots commanded the sequence as VX-23 and UX-24 monitored the Stingray executing planned maneuvers to verify steering, braking, and ground handling.
  • Boeing and NAVAIR identify this jet as one of nine production-representative MQ-25s slated for static, fatigue, and flight testing to prove durability and airworthiness.
  • The program timeline has shifted from a late-2025 target to an early-2026 first flight, with higher-speed taxi trials expected before takeoff.
  • The MQ-25 is intended to assume tanker duties from F/A-18s to extend carrier air wing range, and recent footage indicates a possible secondary ISR sensor turret.