One Step Forward, One Step Back for U.S. Navy's Next Carrier-Based Drone
The U.S. Navy's next attempt at an unmanned carrier-borne aircraft took its maiden flight on Saturday, soaring over the skies of southern Illinois. Boeing's first MQ-25A Stingray drone aircraft is now airborne, but it will not be arriving soon: initial operational capability has now been pushed back by three years, from 2026 to 2029, according to USNI.
The Navy has been working towards adding drones to the carrier air wing for decades. Conceptual planning began in 2000 under a joint USAF-USN R&D program, and the first demonstrator took flight for the first time in 2003. A navalized and evolved version, the Northrop Grumman X-47B, had its first test flight in 2011. It progressed swiftly to sea trials, and came aboard a carrier for a trial integration in 2014; while declared successful, the test program ended in 2015 without progressing to procurement.
The MQ-25A was developed for non-lethal requirements, initially for surveillance and then later for tanking. The tanker mission takes up about a third of a carrier's F/A-18 fighter force, just for aerial refueling; offloading that task onto an unmanned aircraft would free up fighter airframe hours and pilot hours for higher-value tasking.
The first flight of Boeing's MQ-25 test airframe happened in 2021, and five years later, the Navy and Boeing are celebrating the launch of the first test airframe intended for Navy ownership. Under Navy remote pilotage, the first engineering and development model variant of the MQ-25A took off on Saturday. Three more are planned.
"Watching our first Navy aircraft complete an autonomous flight underscores what disciplined teamwork and rigorous testing deliver," said Troy Rutherford, VP of the Boeing MQ-25 program, in a company statement. "Together, we are redefining the future of naval aviation and pushing the boundaries of what's possible with autonomy."
The objective is to progress the aircraft's development towards carrier qualifications, which will require relocating the team to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.
There is still much work to be done, according to USNI. The MQ-25A has been slowed down by production issues, the outlet reports, and by scheduling. It was supposed to achieve IOC this year, but will now be pushed back until 2026.
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The U.S. Air Force's foray into manned-unmanned teaming is moving more quickly, and contemplates designs for direct combat roles. There are three contenders for the USAF's first collaborative combat aircraft: the Anduril Fury "loyal wingman" drone, which had its first fight with weapons attached in February; General Atomics' YFQ-42; and Northrop Grumman's Project Talon collaborative combat aircraft.
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