Key Points
- The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a $12.7 million sole-source modification to upgrade electronic systems on the MQ-25 refueling drone.
- Work covers updated radio frequency and data storage components, plus security assessment corrections for the aircraft’s mission computer, running through November 2029.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $12.7 million contract modification to upgrade electronic components on the MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy’s first operational carrier-based drone, according to a Department of War contract announcement.
The modification covers non-recurring engineering and integration work on an updated Radio Frequency Blanker Unit and an Encrypted Mass Storage System with an embedded Data Transfer System, both components installed on the MQ-25. The Radio Frequency Blanker Unit shields the aircraft’s own transmissions from interfering with its onboard sensors, while the mass storage system secures data collected or transferred during flight. The modification also exercises a contract option covering deficiency analysis and corrections tied to security assessments of the MQ-25’s Mission Management System Computer, the aircraft’s central onboard computer.
Work under the modification will take place primarily in St. Louis, Missouri, which will handle 85 percent of the effort, with the remaining 15 percent performed in Fairborn, Ohio. The contract is expected to be completed by November 2029. Fiscal 2026 Navy research, development, test and evaluation funds covering the full $12.7 million will be obligated at the time of award. The contract was not competitively bid, and Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Maryland, is managing the award.
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The MQ-25 is designed to extend the range of the Navy’s carrier air wing by refueling other aircraft in flight, a role currently filled by crewed F/A-18E/F Super Hornets flying dedicated tanker missions. Once fielded, the Stingray will be the first uncrewed aircraft to operate routinely from a U.S. aircraft carrier.
The program has moved through several milestones this year. The first production-representative MQ-25A completed its maiden flight on April 25 at Boeing’s facility at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, after an earlier attempt on April 22 was aborted for undisclosed reasons. The roughly two-hour flight demonstrated the aircraft’s ability to autonomously taxi, take off, maneuver and land while responding to commands from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System MD-5 ground control station.
“The MQ-25A is not just an aircraft: it’s the first step in integrating unmanned aerial refueling onto the carrier deck, directly enabling our manned fighters to fly further and faster,” said Rear Adm. Tony Rossi, who oversees the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons.
“The MQ-25A is the most complex autonomous system ever developed for the carrier environment, and this historic achievement advances us closer to safely integrating the Stingray into the carrier air wing,” said Dan Gillian, vice president and general manager of Boeing Air Dominance.
The aircraft completed a second test flight in July, which included cycling its landing gear up and down and testing a new software load intended to support future expansion of its flight envelope. Separately, deck-handling trials aboard the carrier USS George H.W. Bush confirmed the aircraft’s physical compatibility with carrier deck operations.
The Navy has previously said it plans to deliver nine MQ-25 aircraft for its test campaign, covering four Engineering Development Model airframes under an $805 million engineering and manufacturing development contract. Future test flights are expected to expand the aircraft’s flight envelope, certify its aerial refueling capability, and eventually transition testing to Naval Air Station Patuxent River for operational evaluation. The Navy has said it is targeting initial operational capability for the MQ-25 by 2027.
