MQ-25 T1 Refuels U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II
Fighter Jet for First Time
The U.S. Navy and Boeing have used the MQ-25 T1 test
asset to refuel a U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II fighter jet for the
first time.
This was the third refueling mission for the
Boeing-owned test asset in just over three months, advancing the
test program for the Navy’s first operational carrier-based
unmanned aircraft.
“Every test flight with another Type/Model/Series
aircraft gets us one step closer to rapidly delivering a fully
mission-capable MQ-25 to the fleet,” said Capt. Chad Reed, the
Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager. “Stingray’s
unmatched refueling capability is going to increase the Navy’s power projection and provide operational flexibility to the
Carrier Strike Group commanders.”
During the test flight
on 13 September, an F-35C test pilot from the Navy’s Air Test and
Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23) conducted a successful wake
survey behind T1 to ensure performance and stability before making
contact with T1’s aerial refueling drogue and receiving fuel.
“This flight was yet another physical demonstration of the
maturity and stability of the MQ-25 aircraft design,” said Dave
Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director. “Thanks to this latest
mission in our accelerated test program, we are confident the
MQ-25 aircraft we are building right now will meet the Navy’s
primary requirement – delivering fuel safely to the carrier air
wing.”
The
T1 flight test program began in September 2019
with the aircraft’s first flight. In the following two years, the
test program has completed more than 120 flight hours – gathering data
on everything from aircraft performance to propulsion dynamics to
structural loads and flutter testing for strength and stability.
MQ-25 is benefitting from the two years of early flight test
data, which has been integrated back into its digital models, to
strengthen the digital thread connecting aircraft design to
production to test to operations and sustainment. Boeing is
currently manufacturing the first two MQ-25 test aircraft.
T1 will be used to conduct a deck handling demonstration aboard a
U.S. Navy carrier in the coming months to help advance the carrier
integration progress.
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