Posted on Jun 7, 2021
VIDEO: MQ-25A Unmanned Aerial Tanker Refuels Super Hornet in Successful First Test - USNI News
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A prototype unmanned aerial tanker refueled a F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter last week in a first-of-its-kind test ahead of introducing drones to the Navy’s carrier flight decks, Naval Air Systems Command and Boeing announced on Monday.
The Boeing-built T-1 prototype for the Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial vehicle was operating from the MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., just outside of St. Louis.
The Boeing-built T-1 prototype for the Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial vehicle was operating from the MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., just outside of St. Louis.
VIDEO: MQ-25A Unmanned Aerial Tanker Refuels Super Hornet in Successful First Test - USNI News
Posted from news.usni.org
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
“During the flight, the receiver Navy F/A-18 [Super] Hornet approached the Boeing-owned MQ-25 T1 test asset, conducted a formation evaluation, wake survey, drogue tracking and then plugged with the unmanned aircraft. T1 then successfully transferred fuel from its Aerial Refueling Store (ARS) to the F/A-18,” NAVAIR said in a statement.
“The milestone comes after 25 T1 flights, testing both aircraft and ARS aerodynamics across the flight envelope, as well as extensive simulations of aerial refueling using MQ-25 digital models. MQ-25 T1 will continue flight testing prior to being shipped to Norfolk, Virginia, for deck handling trials aboard a U.S. Navy carrier later this year.”
The T1 took off from the airfield mid-afternoon on Friday and was followed closely by a Super Hornet assigned to the “Salty Dogs” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, Boeing and Navy officials told reporters on Monday.
The more than four-hour flight tested a variety of different approaches to the unmanned aircraft that was operated from a Boeing ground control station in radio contact with the Super Hornet.
After several dry connections between the fighter and the drone, the T1 transferred a total of 325 pounds of fuel to the Super Hornet, Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director said.
The flight comes after the Navy made its first test flight with the test stores in December. The T-1 was originally built in 2014 by Boeing as the company’s bid for the canceled Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.
“During the flight, the receiver Navy F/A-18 [Super] Hornet approached the Boeing-owned MQ-25 T1 test asset, conducted a formation evaluation, wake survey, drogue tracking and then plugged with the unmanned aircraft. T1 then successfully transferred fuel from its Aerial Refueling Store (ARS) to the F/A-18,” NAVAIR said in a statement.
“The milestone comes after 25 T1 flights, testing both aircraft and ARS aerodynamics across the flight envelope, as well as extensive simulations of aerial refueling using MQ-25 digital models. MQ-25 T1 will continue flight testing prior to being shipped to Norfolk, Virginia, for deck handling trials aboard a U.S. Navy carrier later this year.”
The T1 took off from the airfield mid-afternoon on Friday and was followed closely by a Super Hornet assigned to the “Salty Dogs” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, Boeing and Navy officials told reporters on Monday.
The more than four-hour flight tested a variety of different approaches to the unmanned aircraft that was operated from a Boeing ground control station in radio contact with the Super Hornet.
After several dry connections between the fighter and the drone, the T1 transferred a total of 325 pounds of fuel to the Super Hornet, Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director said.
The flight comes after the Navy made its first test flight with the test stores in December. The T-1 was originally built in 2014 by Boeing as the company’s bid for the canceled Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.
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