18, Boeing achieved two new milestones in flight testing of pre-production versions of the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25A unmanned aircraft.
The T1 prototype, which Boeing owns itself, recorded its longest flight Time to date, at more than six hours. The vehicle also reached its highest altitude to date, with the test point recorded at 30,000 feet (around 10,000 meters).
The MQ-25A UAV was developed to meet the need for a U.S. Navy shipboard aerial refueling aircraft designed to provide a robust refueling capability for the U.S. Navy Shipboard Air Wing to increase the combat range of shipboard strike fighters.In August 2018, Boeing was awarded an $805.3 million Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) contract for the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command ( NAVAIR) to design, develop, manufacture, test, deliver and support four MQ-25A unmanned aerial vehicles, including the deployment of the aircraft to an initial combat-capable shipboard flight wing in August 2024.
The MQ-25A is expected to be able to provide up to 15,000 pounds (about 7,000 kilograms) of fuel to U.S. Navy aircraft up to 500 miles away. The aerial refueling operation will be conducted using two Cobham 31-301-7 aerial refueling pods, one under each wing of the aircraft, each with refueling hoses. These corresponding pods are already in service on the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F fighters.
The T1 prototype began flight testing with the ARS pods in 2020. Flight testing will initially focus on evaluating the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft and pods at different points in the flight envelope.
The T1 prototype will next test the pod hoses and refueling cone sleeve, including investigation of possible adverse wake. Docking and refueling operations with the F/A-18 Super Hornet will follow.
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