MQ-25A carrier-based refueling drone completes test flight with Boeing, U.S. Navy
NewsApril 28, 2026
ST. LOUIS, Missouri. Boeing and the U.S. Navy completed the first test flight of an operational MQ-25A Stingray under the Navy’s $805 million Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract, the company announced in a statement.
The two-hour flight took place April 25 at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, where the MQ-25A program is based, the statement reads. During the flight, the uncrewed aircraft taxied, took off, flew, landed, and responded to commands from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System MD-5 Ground Control Station, according to the company.
Boeing and U.S. Navy air vehicle pilots sent commands to the aircraft and monitored its performance from the ground control station, the company says. Once in flight, the Stingray followed a planned mission intended to validate flight controls, navigation, and integration with the ground control system, the statement adds.
The MQ-25A is intended to provide carrier-based autonomous aerial refueling and support manned-unmanned teaming on carrier decks, Boeing says. The aircraft is the first of four Engineering Development Model aircraft to be delivered to the Navy under the original contract, according to the statement.
Boeing and the Navy plan to continue test flights before moving the aircraft to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, for carrier qualification preparations, the company says.
