“Unmanned refueling extends our reach against any adversary,” Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said as the Navy cleared the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial system to enter low-rate initial production.
Milestone C and the LRIP contract plan
The Navy’s decision to move the MQ-25A Stingray into production is recorded as the Milestone C decision. As part of that move, the service expects to award an LRIP Lot 1 contract for three aircraft this summer, with priced options included for three Lot 2 aircraft and five Lot 3 aircraft, the Navy said. The production decision shifts the program from development and flight-test phases toward initial fielding and procurement.
What the test program has demonstrated at MidAmerica Airport
A production representative MQ-25 completed its first test flight in April, launching from Boeing’s facility at MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., the companies said. Boeing reported the flight demonstrated the aircraft’s ability to autonomously taxi, take off, fly, land, and respond to ground control station commands. The Navy and Boeing said subsequent test flights from the MidAmerica site are expected before the aircraft are sent to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., later this year to prepare for carrier qualifications.
Operational roles: aerial refueling, ISR, and the F/A-18 Super Hornet
The MQ-25 will primarily conduct refueling missions for carrier air wings, explicitly freeing up the F/A-18 Super Hornet to focus on strike missions, the Navy said. The service noted the Stingray may also perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Acting Secretary Cao framed the capability in operational terms, saying, “Moving the MQ-25A Stingray to Milestone C and into production is arming our warfighters with a capability that increases the lethality of our Carrier Strike Groups. This is a decisive advantage that delivers our warfighters what they need to fight and win.”
Budget signals and schedule: FY27 buys and IOC timing
The Navy’s fiscal 2027 budget request includes funding for three MQ-25s. The program’s path to initial operating capability has shifted: the MQ-25 was originally scheduled for IOC in 2024, but budget documents released in April show the Navy now expects to reach IOC in FY29. Those documents align the procurement profile in the near term with the Lot 1 LRIP plan described in the Milestone C decision.
How the Navy, Boeing, carrier air wings, and test squadrons are positioned
- The Navy: By approving Milestone C and moving into LRIP, the Navy is initiating the contractual step the service expects will place aircraft with the fleet after follow-on testing and carrier qualifications; the Lot 1 award for three aircraft is expected this summer.
- Boeing: Troy Rutherford, vice president of Boeing’s MQ-25 program, said 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,” and the company said it “remain[s] focused on getting this game-changing unmanned aircraft into the hands of the fleet and integrated into the carrier air wing.”
- Carrier air wings and the F/A-18 Super Hornet: The MQ-25’s primary refueling role is intended to free Super Hornets for strike tasks, altering the allocation of missions within carrier air wings once the unmanned tanker is fielded.
- Test and qualification units: Following the April production-representative flight and further flights at MidAmerica Airport, the next test milestone is carrier qualifications preparation at Naval Air Station Patuxent River later this year.
The Milestone C decision formalizes a near-term buy and ties procurement to an ongoing flight-test campaign that has already shown autonomous flight and ground-control responsiveness. With an LRIP Lot 1 award expected this summer, subsequent flights planned at MidAmerica, and a move to Patuxent River for carrier qualifications later this year, the MQ-25’s immediate roadmap is defined; the program will still be measured against the Navy’s updated IOC timing of FY29 as reflected in the fiscal 2027 budget request.
