• Autonomous tanker drone completed two-hour maiden flight validating core flight systems
• MQ-25A will replace fighter jets in aerial refueling role aboard carriers
• Further testing planned before transition to carrier qualification operations in Maryland

The US Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray autonomous tanker drone, the service’s first operational unmanned aerial refueler, has completed its maiden flight.

The two-hour test took place over southern Illinois, where the aircraft carried out a series of maneuvers to validate its basic flight controls and onboard operations.

During the mission, the drone followed a predetermined plan which saw it taxi, take off, fly, and land autonomously, all triggered through commands issued from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System MD-5 Ground Control Station.

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Navy plans autonomous operations

Air Vehicle Pilots set the route and defined waypoints before launch, then monitored performance throughout the flight and retained the ability to abort or adjust the mission if required.

The aircraft handled propulsion, guidance, subsystems, and flight controls on its own once the mission began, showing how the U.S. Navy plans to run autonomous operations while keeping human oversight in the loop.

“Today’s successful flight builds on years of learning from our MQ-25A T1 prototype and represents a major maturation of the program,” said Dan Gillian, vice president and general manager, Boeing Air Dominance.

“The MQ-25A is the most complex autonomous system ever developed for the carrier environment, and this historic achievement advances us closer to safely integrating the Stingray into the carrier air wing.”

The Stingray fills a very specific gap in carrier operations, taking over the aerial refueling role that currently falls to F/A-18 Super Hornets, and freeing them to return to strike and combat roles.

Rear Adm. Tony Rossi, the U.S. Navy’s program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, said, “The MQ-25A is not just an aircraft: it’s the first step in integrating unmanned aerial refueling onto the carrier deck, directly enabling our manned fighters to fly further and faster.”

Earlier testing using the MQ-25A T1 prototype helped lay the groundwork for this flight, with that earlier demonstrator logging roughly 125 flight hours to prove the concept before production aircraft took over.

DefenseScoop reports the test also validated the Rolls-Royce AE 3007N engine and confirmed integration with the ground control system that operators will rely on once the aircraft moves into carrier testing.

More test flights are scheduled from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport before the aircraft transitions to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, where preparations for aircraft carrier qualification flights will begin.

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Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.