The US Navy and Boeing completed a second resupply mission using the MQ-25 T1 Stingray drone, new refueler ordered by the US Navy, and an E-2D Hawkeye aircraft, which performs radar identification activities.
The mission took place on August 18, and is part of the MQ-25 development program as a REVO (in-flight refueling) aircraft.
“This flight keeps us on a fast track to bringing the Stingray to the fleet, where its resupply capability will greatly increase the range and operational flexibility of the carrier strike group.”, said Capt. Chad Reed, manager of the Navy's unmanned aviation program.
E-2D pilots were trained for this specific mission, to collaborate with the flight stability of the MQ-25 and the success of in-flight refueling.
The MQ-25 used, in turn, is the first example manufactured by Boeing, and flew for the first time in September 2019. Boeing is currently manufacturing the first two of the seven MQ-25 test aircraft, there are still two planes already manufacturers participating in the testing program.
“It was another great flight, showing that our MQ-25 project is working as planned”, said Dave Bujold, Boeing's MQ-25 program director. “These historic refueling flights provide an incredible amount of data that we feed into the MQ-25 digital models to ensure that the aircraft we are producing will be a game changer for the Navy.”
See this mission on video below:
https://youtu.be/SW6Wh6g9KcY
