Contributor - UK

David Donald

The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command has awarded the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned carrier-borne refueler contract to Boeing. The deal has a ceiling price of $805,318,853 and covers the “design, development, fabrication, test, verification, certification, delivery, and support of four MQ-25A unmanned air vehicles, including integration into the carrier air wing to provide an initial operational capability to the Navy.” The majority of the work will be carried out at Boeing’s St. Louis, Missouri, factory.

 


Boeing was competing with General Atomics and Lockheed Martin to answer the Navy’s requirement, which could ultimately lead to the production of 72 aircraft with an anticipated IOC (initial operational capability) in 2024. Northrop Grumman—which had undertaken extensive at-sea trials with its X-47B UCAV (unmanned combat air vehicle) design—elected not to compete for the MQ-25 Stingray contract. Unusually, the winning air vehicle was given a designation and name in July 2016, long before the type selection had been made. Of the three competitors, Boeing appears to have the most mature program and is the closest to having a <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2017-12-20/boeing-steps-ahead-towards-mq-25-contract">flying prototype</a>.

 


“As a company, we made an investment in both our team and in an unmanned aircraft system that meets the U.S. Navy’s refueling requirements,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space &amp; Security. “The fact that we’re already preparing for first flight is thanks to an outstanding team who understands the Navy and their need to have this important asset on carrier decks around the world.”

 


With the award of this historic contract, the long-running MQ-25 saga has crystallized into a real shape that will become the first large unmanned aircraft to operate seamlessly with manned aircraft within the carrier air wing. The program began life as the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2013-05-17/rfp-will-start-us-navys-uclass-design-process">UCLASS (unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike)</a>, essentially a stealthy UCAV. As requirements changed the emphasis on stealth reduced, while that on ISR grew.

 


The project was also increasingly being viewed as an organic in-flight refueler for the carrier air wing, initially to provide an emergency recovery tanker but subsequently adding full mission support. As this role assumed greater importance in the requirements, the UCLASS became the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-03-21/us-navy-readies-requirements-unmanned-mq-25-stingray">CBARS (carrier-based aerial refueling system)</a> in 2016, and ultimately resulted in the vehicle that Boeing has been contracted to build.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

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