MQ-25A Stingray Context

Market context

MQ-25A Stingray is a carrier-based uncrewed tanker that gives Boeing a concrete robotics profile inside naval aviation rather than a generic aerospace-adjacent signal.

  • Target environment: Carrier decks, naval aviation test environments and future carrier air wing operations.
  • Workflow context: Mission-planned unmanned aerial refueling for crewed aircraft, including deck handling, launch/recovery integration and tanker mission execution.
  • Customer context: U.S. Navy carrier aviation and defense acquisition teams evaluating unmanned support aircraft for extending fighter range.
  • Deployment model: Program-of-record defense aircraft moving through Navy acquisition and low-rate initial production.
  • Commercial maturity: Milestone C / LRIP transition with public Navy fact-file specifications and Boeing/NAVAIR test milestones.
  • Adoption constraints: Carrier integration, airworthiness, reliability, deck operations, command-and-control assurance and defense acquisition timelines remain the practical adoption constraints.
  • Market position: High-consequence defense robotics program from a major aerospace prime; important because it moves autonomous aircraft into carrier air-wing support rather than only experimental…
  • Adjacent products: General Atomics carrier-capable UAS work, Kratos tactical UAS, Anduril/Fury autonomy programs, collaborative combat aircraft ecosystem

Audience

Armed forces

Workflow

Mission-planned unmanned aerial refueling for crewed aircraft, including deck handling, launch/recovery integration and tanker mission execution.

Deployment environment

Carrier decks, naval aviation test environments and future carrier air wing operations.

Specifications

  • Wingspan Spread Ft: 22.86 m / 75 ft
  • Wingspan Ft: 22.9 m / 75 ft spread; 9.5 m / 31.3 ft folded
  • Wingspan Folded Ft: 9.54 m / 31.3 ft
  • Height Spread M: 2.99 m
  • Height Folded M: 4.79 m
  • Propulsion: Rolls-Royce AE3700N
  • Length Ft: 15.54 m / 51 ft
  • Aircraft Class: Carrier-based uncrewed aerial refueling aircraft
  • Overall Length: 15.5 m / 51 ft length
  • Dimensions: 3.0 m / 9.8 ft height spread; 4.8 m / 15.7 ft height folded
  • Payload Options: Aerial refueling mission payload for carrier air wing extension
  • Operational Environment: Carrier deck and naval aviation environments
  • Launch Recovery: U.S. Navy carrier-deck integration
  • Communication: Secure, interoperable communications for manned-unmanned teaming and complementary aerial-refueling tasking
  • Autonomy Model: Autonomous taxi, takeoff, flight and landing capability described by Boeing
  • Market Availability: U.S. Navy first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft

View MQ-25A Stingray overview