The US Navy has for the first time used a Boeing unmanned aircraft, the MQ-25 T1, to refuel a fighter jet, the US manufacturer announced Monday (June 7).
During a test flight on June 4, the drone transferred fuel to an F / A-18 Super Hornet, "
demonstrating the ability of the MQ-25 Stingray to carry out its main in-flight refueling mission
", details the group in a statement.
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Extend the reach of combat aircraft
The T1 had already performed 25 test flights evaluating both the aerodynamics of the aircraft and the in-flight refueling system. It is to be sent by the end of the year to an aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Va., For further testing. It must ultimately fulfill the role of refueller, launched and recovered by an aircraft carrier, currently played by the F / A-18s, "
allowing better use of combat aircraft and helping to extend the range of the air squadron of aircraft carrier
”, notes the manufacturer.
Boeing landed in 2018 a contract with the United States Department of Defense worth $ 805 million to develop the aircraft. This development marks a new stage in the integration of drones into increasingly common military activities. It was in 2013 that a prototype stealth drone, the X-47B, landed for the first time on an American aircraft carrier.
