MQ-25A Stingray

[Skymaster]

I can't see that this has been posted before...

"The US Navy recently announced that the carriers George H.W. Bush and Dwight D. Eisenhower will be the first to field the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refuelling system, essentially a massive UAS capable of refuelling aircraft in the air."

https://www.army-technology.com/feature ... -navy-uas/


Boeing first prototype, unveiled December 2017.

[Thunder]

Can't see the MQ-25 being of much use in that role, where exactly is the fuel for offloading meant to be. The whole centre section is engine and the wings are pretty thin and the whole thing is no larger than a F-16 .

[Seahornet1]

Can't see the MQ-25 being of much use in that role, where exactly is the fuel for offloading meant to be. The whole centre section is engine and the wings are pretty thin and the whole thing is no larger than a F-16 .

It's the same issue that led the reporter to assume that it's a 'massive' UAS, when it's actually the size of a Super Hornet (so a bit bigger than an F-16, but certainly not a 'full-size' tanker). In fact, the concept of Buddy Tankers has been around for decades, especially in naval aviation (Sea Vixens used to do it!), and this is just a variation on this idea. One to one, the MQ-25 is meant to extend a Superbug's operational radius by about 50 - 80%, but the Navy is suggesting that several UAVs may be used to support a single combat sortie.