The unmanned aircraft will have as its mission the respotage in the middle of the flight of F-35 fighters

The United States Navy has successfully completed the addition of a Boeing MQ-25 Stingray T1 drone aboard a Navy aircraft carrier. The drone rolled onto the deck of the George HW Bush aircraft carrier attached to the catapult, where it carried out other maneuvers.

The mission of the MQ-25 unmanned aircraft will be to refuel the F-35 fighters on board US aircraft carriers in order to expand the operational capacity of the fixed wing on board this type of vessel.

Boeing and Northrop Grumman carried out an airborne refueling of an F18 fighter for the first time last September through this autonomous drone. The MQ-25 is part of an aerospace project that has been developed by Boeing after winning a contract with the US Navy for $ 805 million.

The tanker drones are designed to operate outside of aircraft carriers and allow the refueling of the F / A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and F-35C Lightning II.

The MQ-25 will be the world’s first operational drone incorporated into an aircraft carrier. Its capabilities will not only consist of aerial refueling tasks but also intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, all of which will add operational flexibility, lethality of the carrier’s air wing, and will expand the group’s attack capabilities.

The F-35s and the new munitions of the US Navy that will be incorporated will allow to preserve the attack power of the United States until mid-2030.

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