Boeing · Drones · 2021
The U.S. Navy's first carrier-based unmanned aircraft — a Boeing-built autonomous aerial-refueling tanker drone whose primary job is to offload fuel to F/A-18 Super Hornets (via a wing-mounted buddy refueling store), freeing fighters from the tanking role, with a secondary ISR mission through a retractable EO/IR sensor turret. It has a ~75 ft (22.9 m) wingspan, a Rolls-Royce AE 3007N turbofan fed by a low-observable top-mounted flush inlet, and flies fully autonomously (taxi, take-off, maneuver, land) under the MD-5 Ground Control Station. A T1 demonstrator first flew in 2019 and the production-representative MQ-25A made its maiden flight in 2026; the Navy plans 76 aircraft with IOC targeted for 2026.
Price on application
View full interactive profile, comparisons & videos → Check price on Amazon →| Category | Drones |
| Sub-type | Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling UAV |
| Status | Active |
| Year | 2021 |
| Origin | USA |
| Payload | Buddy refueling store (future weapons/sensors) kg |
| Camera | Retractable EO/IR sensor turret |
| Use cases | Aerial refueling, ISR |
| Made in | USA |
