The Navy handed Boeing a $562 million fixed-price incentive contract to begin low-rate initial production of the MQ-25A Stingray, the Defense Department’s first unmanned aerial tanker and the Navy’s first carrier-based operational unmanned aircraft. The award, announced Monday, covers three Lot 1 airframes and includes component funding to support three additional Lot 2 aircraft. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao had previewed the production decision in May before the Senate Armed Services Committee. First deliveries are targeted for 2029.
What it means
The Stingray is built to take aerial refueling duties away from F/A-18 Super Hornets, freeing those manned fighters for strike missions. The aircraft can transfer a minimum of 14,000 pounds of fuel at distances up to 500 nautical miles. The Navy’s carrier integration work is already underway: in March, the USS Theodore Roosevelt became the first carrier fitted with an Unmanned Air Warfare Center configured to support MQ-25A operations.
The program carries a history of delays. The Navy’s first successful Stingray test flight occurred on April 25, a full year past the original schedule. A Pentagon acquisition report from April 2026 pointed to technical risks and a Boeing union labor strike as the drivers of that slippage. Initial operational capability, once expected years earlier, is now projected for 2029 — four years behind the original target. Flight testing is expected to run through the end of this year. The complete program of record calls for 67 operational aircraft and nine test aircraft. The program traces its origins to the Unmanned Carrier Launch Airborne Surveillance and Strike concept; by 2016 the Navy had redirected the effort toward a dedicated carrier-based tanker mission.
Key facts
- $562 million: fixed-price incentive contract value awarded to Boeing
- 3 Lot 1 MQ-25As covered by the contract; component funding included for 3 Lot 2 airframes
- 2029: scheduled year for initial Lot 1 deliveries and projected initial operational capability
- 4 years: delay in reaching initial operational capability versus original plans
- 14,000 pounds: minimum fuel the Stingray delivers per sortie
- 500 nautical miles: operational refueling range
- 67 operational aircraft and 9 test aircraft in the full program of record
- April 25: date of the Navy’s first successful Stingray test flight, one year behind schedule
Source: U.S. Navy contract announcement