Boeing wins first production deal for Navy's carrier drone tanker

The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $562 million contract to begin low-rate production of the MQ-25A Stingray, the service’s first carrier-based unmanned refueling drone.

The Fixed Price Incentive contract covers three Lot 1 aircraft and includes advance funding to buy long-lead components for three more Lot 2 aircraft. Boeing expects to deliver the first Lot 1 aircraft in 2029.

“Awarding this first LRIP contract marks a pivotal transition from development to operational reality and is a testament to the focused effort of our joint government and industry teams,” said Capt. Daniel Fucito, Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager.

“MQ-25A will deliver the advanced reach, lethality, and survivability our warfighters need to outpace evolving threats and dominate the future battlespace,” Fucito said.

The contract follows a Milestone C decision in May, when Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao approved moving the MQ-25A into full production and deployment. That approval cleared the way for the Navy to commit funding beyond the test and development aircraft already under contract.

The MQ-25A is designed to fly aerial refueling missions from aircraft carriers, a job currently handled in part by manned F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. Freeing those jets from tanker duty lets them fly more strike missions and reduces wear on the Super Hornet fleet, extending its service life.

The Navy’s program of record calls for 76 MQ-25A aircraft total, including four Engineering Development and Manufacturing airframes and five System Demonstration Test Articles built earlier in the program. Seven test aircraft are currently in production, split between Boeing’s St. Louis facility and a dedicated MQ-25 production line in Mascoutah, Illinois.

The Stingray is built to operate as the first fully integrated unmanned aircraft flying routinely from a carrier deck alongside manned jets. The Navy has described the program as a template for how unmanned aircraft will be folded into carrier air wings going forward, beyond the tanking mission the MQ-25A is starting with.

Program office PMA-268 oversees both the MQ-25A air vehicle and the ground-based Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System used to command and control it.

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