Boeing MQ-25 Stingray

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A Boeing MQ-25A refueling an F/A-18E/F and an F-35C.

The Boeing MQ-25 Stingray is an unmanned aerial tanker that resulted from the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) program, which grew out of the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.

Boeing's MQ-25 design is powered by one Rolls-Royce AE 3007N turbofan engine delivering 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) of thrust; it is a variant of the engine used to power the Navy's MQ-4C Triton. The aircraft is less stealthy than flying wing UAVs. However, it still features a stealthy fuselage shaping, flush inlet to shield engine blades from radar and V-tail.

In late April 2019, the first MQ-25 test aircraft (T-1 or "Tail 1") was taken by road from Boeing's technical plant at St. Louis's Lambert International Airport across the Mississippi River to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, which is conjoined to Scott Air Force Base. Test flying began at MidAmerica on September 20th 2019, after taxi tests and the Federal Aviation Administration’s certifying the aircraft and granting airspace for flight testing.

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