MQ-25A Stingray

The MQ-25A Stingray is a carrier-based unmanned aerial refueling aircraft developed by Boeing for the United States Navy. Its primary purpose is to refuel carrier-based fighters in the air, extending their mission range and time on station.

The introduction of the Stingray is intended to free crewed fighter aircraft from the aerial-refueling role so they can focus on strike and air-defence missions. This approach allows an aircraft carrier to employ more of its combat aircraft for their primary tasks while gaining greater flexibility in mission planning.

The MQ-25A is designed for fully autonomous take-off and landing operations in the confined environment of an aircraft carrier deck. Secure communications, MUM-T interoperability and a modular open-system architecture allow the aircraft to evolve as new mission requirements emerge. The platform is also designed to accommodate future machine-learning and artificial-intelligence capabilities. In the Plarok record, many of the MQ-25A’s performance and payload figures remain classified, while the programme is listed in the testing stage.