A demonstration sample of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker of the US Navy (Navy) performed aerial refueling of the fifth-generation F-35C Lightning II carrier-based fighter. The corresponding video was published by Boeing on YouTube.
The refueling occurred on September 13 in the sky near the St. Louis Airport in Muscut (Illinois).
The Drive edition reminds that earlier, with the help of the MQ-25 Stingray, the F/A-18F Super Hornet carrier-based fighter-bomber and the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye long-range radar detection (AWACS) carrier-based aircraft were refueled.
In August, the MQ-25 Stingray refueled an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for the first time in the air. In June, the drone conducted an aerial refueling of a fighter for the first time in history.
The first flight of the MQ-25 Stingray took place in September 2019.
In addition to refueling aircraft, such drones are planned to be used in intelligence. The first MQ-25 should receive the aircraft carrier George Bush of the Nimitz type. In total, the US Navy plans to receive 72 units of the MQ-25 Stingray. Deliveries of the first drones should begin before 2025.
Ivan Potapov
