US Navy awards Boeing contract for first batch of MQ-25A Stingray
The US Navy has awarded Boeing a $562 million contract to begin the first low-rate initial production batch of MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling aircraft. The fixed-price incentive contract provides for the production of three aircraft in the first batch, Defense News reports.
Deliveries expected in 2029
The agreement also provides funding for components for three MQ-25A aircraft in the second low-rate initial production batch. The first deliveries of aircraft from the first batch are scheduled for 2029. The MQ-25 program calls for 67 operational aircraft and nine test vehicles.
The MQ-25A is set to become the US Department of Defense's first unmanned aerial refueling aircraft and the US Navy's first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Its purpose is to extend the service life of F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters by freeing them from aerial refueling missions so they can focus on strike missions.
Program capabilities and delays
According to an August report by the US Government Accountability Office, the Stingray must be able to transfer at least 14,000 pounds of fuel at a distance of 500 nautical miles. This roughly corresponds to the capabilities of the Super Hornet in the tanker role.
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The MQ-25 program has experienced several delays. The Navy conducted the first successful Stingray test flight on April 25, one year later than originally planned. The Navy estimates that flight testing will continue through the end of the year.
An updated Pentagon acquisition report from April 2026 cited technical risks and a Boeing workers' strike that contributed to the delays. According to the Pentagon's assessment, the drone may reach initial operational capability in 2029, four years later than the original schedule. In March, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt became the first US Navy ship equipped with an Unmanned Air Warfare Center to support the MQ-25A.
The project was initially conceived as a stealth unmanned aircraft for intelligence, surveillance and strike missions called UCLASS. By 2016, the US Navy had reoriented the program from a strike and reconnaissance mission toward a carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle.
