"MQ-25 reached Milestone C, which is huge because now we have inflight refueling that is unmanned...it's a great capability,” Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said after a Senate hearing — a concise declaration that the service has formally cleared the MQ-25A Stingray to move from development into low-rate initial production.
Milestone C and what the Navy announced
The Navy announced that the MQ-25A Stingray has reached Milestone C, authorizing low-rate initial production (LRIP). Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao delivered the milestone announcement at the close of a lengthy Senate Armed Services Committee hearing and reinforced the operational intent in a post on X: “Integrating unmanned refueling extends the lethality of our Carrier Strike Groups and equips our force with a decisive advantage to fight and win against any adversary.” The service said the Stingray will be the first carrier-based aerial drone tanker once in production.
Lot 1 contract: three aircraft now, options for more
The Navy plans to order three MQ-25A aircraft as part of a Lot 1 LRIP contract that the service expects to award later this summer, according to the news release. The Lot 1 award will include priced options for two subsequent lots that together could add eight aircraft. The program overall plans for 76 aircraft: 67 operational aircraft and nine test aircraft.
What the Stingray is designed to do aboard carriers
The MQ-25A Stingray is a catapult-launched unmanned tanker intended to integrate with aircraft carriers and relieve the refueling role currently performed by the F/A-18 Super Hornet family. “Stingray will provide the Carrier Air Wing with essential organic refueling, allowing more F/A-18E/F aircraft to focus on strike missions,” the service said in its release. The Navy added that the Stingray’s use will expand the operational reach of the air wing and help preserve the service life of F/A-18E/Fs while improving readiness across the Super Hornet fleet. The release also framed the program as an early effort to integrate unmanned systems alongside manned platforms within the carrier air wing.
Costs, schedule pressure, and watchdog concerns
The MQ-25 program has faced delays and scrutiny over schedule impacts, cost growth, and reliance on a single supplier. A 2025 Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment noted that estimated program costs rose about 4 percent, to roughly $16 billion overall, and placed each unit at approximately $209 million. The Pentagon requested $1.75 billion in its 2027 budget documents for the MQ-25 Stingray to fund the three LRIP aircraft and advanced procurement supporting LRIP Lot 3 (five MQ-25 aircraft) long-lead materials. That funding request also covers the aircraft’s mission control system — the UMCS program — described in the budget materials as building, integrating, installing, and sustaining the control station, communications, networks required to operate the MQ-25 and performing associated ship installations.
Boeing’s test flight and contractor statement
The LRIP decision follows a successful two-hour test flight of a production-ready MQ-25A from Boeing’s facility in Southern Illinois. Troy Rutherford, vice president of the Boeing MQ-25 program, said in a statement: “Boeing is honored to work alongside our U.S. Navy partner in achieving this historic milestone in the MQ-25A Stingray’s development life cycle. We remain focused on getting this game-changing unmanned aircraft into the hands of the fleet and integrated into the carrier air wing.”
What this means for Carrier Air Wings, the Pentagon, and Boeing
- Carrier Air Wings and F/A-18E/F operators: The Navy says the Stingray will free up Super Hornets to focus on strike missions and preserve airframe service life by taking on organic refueling duties aboard carriers.
- The Pentagon and budget planners: The Department of Defense has requested $1.75 billion in 2027 to support LRIP deliveries and long-lead materials for LRIP Lot 3, and must manage program risks highlighted by the GAO — schedule slippage, cost growth, and supplier consolidation.
- Boeing as prime contractor: Boeing executed the recent two-hour flight test and framed the milestone as a step toward integrating the MQ-25A into the carrier air wing; the company remains the focal point for production as the program moves into LRIP.
The Navy’s decision to enter LRIP formalizes a transition from test articles to production hardware: a Lot 1 award expected later this summer, three LRIP aircraft, and priced options for additional lots. The program still faces explicit questions about schedule, costs, and supplier concentration noted by the GAO and reflected in the Pentagon’s 2027 funding request — issues the service, the contractor, and budget planners will need to reconcile as the MQ-25A moves from demonstration into fleet integration.
Source: Defense One, "Navy greenlights low-rate production of drone refueler"
