The U.S. Navy’s initial production representative MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone has completed its first low-speed taxi test. The department said it was now targeting the first flight of the drone early this year after missing a self-imposed deadline to achieve the milestone by the end of 2025.
The taxi testing took place at Boeing’s facility at Mid-America Airport outside St. Louis, Missouri, according to social media posts from the company and Naval Air Systems (NAVAIR). The event was attended by Navy personnel from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 24 (UX-24), the latter of which is dedicated to supporting the development of unmanned aerial systems, NAVAIR reported.
The first MQ-25A Stingray put into service
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for @US Navy The first taxi test has been successfully completed.
When the aircraft pilot presses a button, the Stingray automatically glides and performs a series of maneuvers to verify its functionality. pic.twitter.com/bNHGKIYsPa
The grueling test of a drone moving under its own power is a crucial step toward its first flight. Exactly when this milestone will be achieved is unclear, and TWZ NAVAIR and Boeing have been contacted for further information.
Boeing previously announced the start of production last summer to represent ground testing of the MQ-25. The flying MQ-25 demonstrator (also known as the T1) has been used for many years to support flight and ground testing of the Stingray program. However, this is a test article and does not fully reflect the production standard aircraft.
A video released today provides new views of the drone’s peculiar top-mounted “flush” air intakes and engine exhausts inside the fuselage, shown at the top of this article and below. TWZ Special attention has been paid to the inlet in the past, which explains other low-observability (stealth) features of the design and its overall design, although this is not the explicit focus of the MQ-25 program.
One of the new top views of a production representative MQ-25 showing its “flush” entrance. boeing capture
View of the drone’s recessed exhaust. boeing capture
Boeing has previously confirmed to CNN that the MQ-25 design was influenced by the Unmanned Carrier Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program the company submitted to the Navy. UCLASS envisions a stealthy carrier-based drone capable of performing kinetic strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Despite significant efforts to field the capability, including groundbreaking flight tests using two Northrop Grumman-built X-47B drones, the Navy subsequently abandoned the UCLASS program in favor of unmanned tankers. This decision in turn gave birth to the MQ-25.
The video also provides a new look at the retractable sensor turret under the nose of the production representative Stingray configuration. Turrets like this usually contain a mix of electro-optical and infrared cameras, sometimes equipped with laser rangefinders, laser point markers and laser designators. In addition to its primary role as an unmanned aerial refueling platform, the MQ-25 will have secondary ISR capabilities, the Navy said. The overall design of the Stingray opens up the possibility of it taking on other missions in the future, including kinetic strikes, TWZ This has been discussed in detail before.
A glimpse of the retracted sensor turret on a production representative MQ-25. A companion refueling station can also be seen under the drone’s left wing, which is where the drone performs its main refueling mission. boeing capture
Boeing has been working in recent years to deliver nine pre-production Stingrays, five of which will be used for fatigue and other static testing work. The U.S. Navy plans to eventually purchase a total of 76 Stingrays, with the most recent goal of reaching initial operational capability (IOC) for the model in 2027.
first one @US Navy The MQ-25 Stingray was recently moved from the production line to our static testing facility. This is the first of nine Stingrays that will undergo static, fatigue and flight testing to ensure durability and airworthiness. pic.twitter.com/2UvYoKnK7G
The MQ-25 program has been plagued by delays and cost increases in recent years. The initial goal is to deliver the first pre-production Stingrays in 2022 and reach IOC in 2024. Last year, the Navy repeatedly emphasized that it was working hard to finally achieve the first flight before 2026.
Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander of U.S. Naval Aviation, said in January 2025: “We will fly the MQ-25 in ’25. You can quote me on that. We will fly the platform in ’25 and install it on the aircraft carrier and start integration in ’26.”
“People have confidence in the MQ-25, [20]25. There’s a lot of work to do to get the MQ-25 and ’25,” now-retired Navy Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, then head of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), also said last April. “Seventy percent of the capabilities we provide, [that] Industry delivered to us, too late. So we’re pushing hard. “
Needless to say, the first flight schedule was subsequently postponed to 2026.
These hurdles aside, Navy officials continue to be outspoken in their support of the MQ-25 program, which they believe provides critical range extension for current and future aircraft on the Navy’s aircraft carriers. The Navy also hopes to use the Stingrays to prevent manned F/A-18F Super Hornets from taking on tanker duties during deployments, freeing up those aircraft for other missions and reducing wear and tear on their airframes.
An F/A-18F carries a buddy refueling depot and underwing drop tanks for tanker missions. U.S. Navy
The Navy also often talks about the MQ-25 as a “pathfinder” for other future carrier-based unmanned aviation capabilities. As early as 2021, the Air Force has been discussing the ultimate goal of having 60% or more of the carrier air wing’s aircraft unmanned.
Last year, the U.S. Navy announced an increase in its efforts to procure a fleet of Carrier Cooperative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones, hiring four companies (Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics, and Northrop Grumman) to develop conceptual designs. Lockheed Martin also now has a contract with the Navy to develop the underlying common control architecture. NAVAIR has also now established a Future Advanced Capabilities (FAC) program office focused on CCA. The U.S. Navy previously signed formal agreements with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps to jointly develop CCA to ensure interoperability, including the ability to seamlessly exchange control of drones during future operations.
Meanwhile, in addition to getting the MQ-25 flying, the Navy has a lot of work to do in integrating the Stingray into daily operations. As noted previously, critical command and control architecture and associated tactics, techniques, and procedures are still under development.
The stingrays also had to fit into the existing rhythms of flight deck operations, including figuring out how to move them amid the din of other activity. The physical environment of an aircraft carrier deck is very limited and its operating conditions are very different compared to land bases. This is true even for manned aircraft operations, where those on board can provide additional situational awareness. During the X-47B tests, a wearable glove-like system was specifically used, which can be used by personnel for deck operations. A different type of portable control device has also been used in past testing of the T1 MQ-25 demonstrator. The video released today does not appear to offer any significant new insights into how the Navy plans to maneuver stingrays on aircraft carrier decks.
Glove-like system used during X-47B testing. U.S. Navy
Deck control equipment used in previous tests involving the T1 MQ-25 demonstrator. U.S. Navy
The Navy has also been developing new force structures and training channels to support the MQ-25 program.
The MQ-25 is at least one step closer to its first flight as taxi testing begins.
Update: 3:12 p.m. ET —
Boeing and Navy have now confirmed TWZ The first taxi test took place yesterday.
“The first U.S. Navy MQ-25A Stingray is in the final stages of ground testing and completed its first taxi test yesterday,” a company spokesperson told us in a statement. “Boeing and the Navy will now conduct additional taxi testing before completing thoughtful systems-level testing and reviewing and approving the final airworthiness artifacts required for flight clearance. Once completed and we have the appropriate weather window, the aircraft will fly.”
“this [MQ-25] The aircraft is currently in the final stages of ground testing and successfully completed its first low-speed taxi test [on] January 29,” also said Rear Adm. Tony Rossi, Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO U&W) TWZ in a statement. “The team is completing system testing and flight clearance, with a first flight planned once certification is complete and weather permits.”
“The MQ-25A Navy-Boeing team continues to make progress toward first flight,” Rossi added. “Over the past several months, the team completed MQ-25A Stingray structural testing on a static aircraft, conducted initial engine operations, completed flight certification software and commanded the vehicle through the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS).”
