Boeing and the U.S. Navy have successfully completed the first test flight of an operational MQ‑25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling aircraft, the company announced on April 27, 2026. The milestone marks a major step toward carrier‑based unmanned operations and brings the Navy closer to having its first carrier‑borne tanker drone in the fleet.
The test flight took place on April 25, 2026, when the Navy’s first production‑representative MQ‑25A Stingray took off from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois. During the roughly two‑hour mission, the aircraft autonomously taxied, took off, flew a pre‑determined flight profile, landed, and responded to commands sent from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System MD‑5 Ground Control Station.
Boeing and U.S. Navy “air vehicle pilots” monitored the aircraft from the ground control station, sending commands and validating the platform’s flight controls, navigation, and safe integration with the control system. The test followed a series of earlier ground trials, including low‑ and high‑speed autonomous taxi tests and system integration checks conducted by the Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX‑23) and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 24 (UX‑24).
The successful flight advances the MQ‑25 Stingray program toward carrier integration and operational testing aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. The Navy expects to reach Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the MQ‑25 in fiscal year 2027, with nine aircraft slated to support the required test and evaluation work.
Designed as an unmanned carrier‑based tanker, the MQ‑25A is intended to extend the range of carrier‑based strike aircraft such as the F/A‑18 Super Hornet and F‑35C by providing mid‑air refueling without putting additional manned tankers at risk. With the first operational test now complete, the program will move into a broader flight‑test phase that will include more complex maneuvers, formation flying, and eventually in‑flight refueling demonstrations with other aircraft.