The Navy’s new unmanned tanker won’t be ready until 2027—another delay for a program that has struggled with design and production problems.
The MQ-25 Stingray was originally supposed to reach initial operational capability in 2024, then in 2026. New budget documents reveal that date has been pushed back again, to the third quarter of fiscal 2027. A Navy official confirmed the delay, but neither the service nor Boeing disclosed the reason behind it.
Budget documents also show that initial operational test and evaluation, or IOT&E, has been delayed a year; it is now scheduled to take place in the second to fourth quarter of fiscal 2028. Typically, that testing happens before IOC is declared so the service can test with production-like systems ahead of deployment. But for this program, the Navy said IOC can be achieved before testing wraps up.
“MQ-25A Initial Operational Capability is defined as three aircraft, trained personnel, and equipment to deploy on an MQ-25-capable aircraft carrier. MQ-25A Initial Operational Test & Evaluation is not dependent upon IOC. The fleet may achieve the IOC requirements prior to completing all IOT&E objectives,” the official said.
In a statement, Boeing deferred questions to the Navy, but said they are “on track to conduct first flight later this year and first carrier flight in 2026.”
The Navy intends the Boeing-built unmanned tanker to take over refueling for the carrier air wing from the Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets that have been doing the job. The drone is also expected to perform intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance missions.
The Navy says the MQ-25 will extend the range of its strike aircraft, and pave the way for other drones on carriers.
But the program has had its share of hiccups. Manufacturing problems caused multiple delays, and Boeing ran into major cost overruns after signing onto a fixed-price contract. The program may also be affected by a looming strike at the company’s St. Louis facilities, after union members working on the MQ-25 and other military programs rejected a proposed contract.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced Tuesday that the MQ-25 program had begun ground testing, ahead of the first flight expected this year. But Navy officials have already warned it will require a “ton of work” to make it fly in 2025, and that the service and Boeing will need to remove “barriers” that come up in pre-flight testing.
The Navy’s current budget request asks to buy the first three low-rate initial production vehicles at $161.5 million per drone. The service plans to buy a total of 76 MQ-25s.
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