Boeing will receive $90 million for development from an unmanned MQ-25 tanker

In August 2018, a Chicago based company defeated two competitors – Lockheed Martin and General Atomics – in the fight for a lucrative deal for a breakthrough BSP for the US Navy. The August $805 million US contract provides for the design, construction and testing of a total of four unmanned aircraftmen capable of operating from the aircraft carrier. Machines are expected to achieve initial operational readiness as early as 2024.

In a document published in December under the name of "Design for Maintenance Maritime Superiority", the Chief of Maritime Operations of the US Navy Admiral John Richardson indicated that the purpose of the current activities is to carry out the first MQ-25 flight in 2021 and to achieve initial operational capability as soon as possible.

The presence of MQ-25 is intended to improve the performance, performance and safety of aircraft departing from the aircraft carrier's deck, as well as increase their range, which will translate into the ability to perform missions that were previously impossible to carry out. Although the jacket does not reveal the range and capabilities of the new machine, it is estimated that MQ-25 is to carry fuel weighing approximately 6.8 tonnes over 500 nautical miles from the carrier.

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"The ability to unmanned refuel in the air will increase the range of aircraft operating from the aircraft carrier and improve the use of naval combat fighters above, what we are currently dealing with in the air, while reducing the risk of a human factor in such operations," said Captain Chad Reed, manager of the Navy Unmanned Carrier Aviation program. – MQ-25A Stingray will be the first aircraft carrier operating on board an unmanned aircraft, providing a wide capacity for refuelling," added Captain Reed.

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