MQ-25 'Stingray' Tanker Drone Design for the Navy

MQ-25 'Stingray' Tanker Drone Design for the Navy

Lockheed Martin is bringing the future of unmanned aircraft carrier aviation to the U.S. Navy with its MQ-25. An unmanned aircraft system designed for the U.S. Navy mission, it will provide the needed robust refueling capability thereby extending the combat range of deployed Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and Lockheed Martin F-35C fighters.

Our aircraft is ready for the mission, the flight deck and the U.S. Navy. Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for more than 90 years – we know the flight deck. Our MQ-25 brings the right combination of refueling, autonomy, and seamless carrier deck integration to deliver a solution that meets the U.S. Navy’s goals: put a low-cost unmanned aerial refueling aircraft on the flight deck as soon as possible.

Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs, better known as Skunk Works, has released concept images of its MQ-25 'Stingray' design, an unmanned carrier-launched tanker plane. The refueling drone will compete against designs from Boeing and General Atomics for a Navy contract to build a fleet of the aircraft.

The Navy's MQ-25 program seeks a refueling drone that can perform catapult-launched takeoffs and arrested landings on aircraft carriers. The tanker should be capable of passing 14,000 lbs. of fuel to other planes at a range of 500 nautical miles from the carrier. Such a tanker could significantly extend the operating range of carrier-based fighter jets like the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35C Joint Strike Fighter. A Super Hornet, for example, has a strike range of about 450 nautical miles. The Stingray could extend that range to more than 700 nmi.

The Navy is currently evaluating the tanker design from Skunk Works, as well as a drone from https://www.facebook.com/chickennnpubg/Boeing's Phantom Works known as the T-1 and a joint project between Boeing Autonomous Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems on another MQ-25 prototype. Boeing's T-1 prototype is currently conducting flight deck testing on a painted runway.

Lockheed's single-engine flying wing design is somewhat reminiscent of the B-2 Spirit, though with only a slightly longer wingspan than a fighter jet. It will need to be compact, and equipped with folding wings, to operate in the tight confines of an aircraft carrier flight deck.

Though the program does not call for stealth capabilities, Skunk Works' MQ-25 design's low profile could have modest stealth benefits. A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin told Popular Mechanics that it is working toward the Navy's requirements, and stealth is not one of them, but Lockheed "can absolutely rapidly integrate stealth into additional mission systems." The tanker, however, is designed to carry gas, and the concept images from Lockheed show the aircraft flying with a fuel pod mounted on its belly.

The aircraft design appears to have a camera and possibly sensors on its nose, likely for a remote pilot to fly the drone. It's possible that the Lockheed MQ-25 design also calls for some autonomous systems, such as collision avoidance or an automatic recall to the carrier.

Skunk Works also revealed its X-44A prototype at the Los Angeles County Airshow, a never-before-seen UAV demonstrator from the early 2000s that Lockheed says was part of a family of test vehicles. The timing of the unveiling is likely intended to showcase Lockheed's history of UAV aircraft designs ahead of the MQ-25 competition.

The Navy is expected to award a contract for the MQ-25 in around September of this year, with the first deliveries coming in the early or mid-2020s.

 

Source:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a19600045/lockheed-martin-unveils-mq-25-stingray-tanker-drone-design-for-the-navy/