The MQ-25 Stingray resumed testing with a second flight in anticipation of extended flight range and validation of autonomous flight control codes prior to carrier operations.
The U.S. Navy’s production flagship MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling tanker has conducted its second flight test, Boeing announced on June 10, 2026. This is MidAmerica St., Illinois. It’s been more than two months since the first flight took place at St. Louis Airport on April 25, 2026.
Boeing noted that this flight was the first to feature a landing gear cycle, followed by a first landing gear cycle in the gear-down landing configuration, as is customary for the maiden flights of new aircraft. Additionally, the aircraft is loaded with new software to support future range-extended testing.
“It autonomously managed the propulsion, subsystems, guidance and flight controls necessary to achieve both the landing gear ascent and descent phases of the mission plan,” Boeing said in a statement. The aircraft received commands through MidAmerica’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) MD-5 Ground Control Station (GCS).
As standard, the MQ-25A carries a Cobham aerial refueling store (ARS) under the left wing. This system, already in use on the F/A-18, hosts the hose-and-drogue system used for fuel transfer.
The first @USNavy MQ-25A Stingray™ has completed its second test flight, featuring the aircraft’s first aerial landing gear cycle. This milestone further validates autonomous flight control and performance capabilities, bringing it closer to airline operations. pic.twitter.com/UmqXk6Wufl
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) July 10, 2026
To prepare for aircraft carrier operations, the MQ-25 will continue its flight test campaign and expand its flight range. The Stingray will also receive official U.S. Navy livery.
A month after the MQ-25A made its first flight on April 25, the U.S. Navy approved low-rate initial production (LRIP) conversion of the unmanned tanker. Recently, official photos released by the U.S. Navy showed the Boeing-owned T1 demonstrator, which flew for the first time in 2019, boarding the flight deck of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.
Last June, Boeing explained exactly what aspects engineers were testing during ground and flight testing. Testing will specifically focus on autonomous flight control codes and will involve a variety of scenarios in which the MQ-25 will perform rigorously when no air vehicle pilot (AVP) is involved.
second flight
Boeing said in a press release that the second test flight by the company and the U.S. Navy’s AVP “further validates the aircraft’s flight control and performance, bringing it one step closer to aircraft carrier operations.” They overhauled the landing gear cycle based on the “success of the first flight.”
More importantly, the Boeing and U.S. Navy teams also installed new software that will support future flight range extension testing. The new software “includes improvements to the vehicle management system and mission computer,” Boeing explains.
Footage released by the company shows test team members activating auto-taxi and auto-takeoff commands, with the aircraft performing the task autonomously while the ground team supervises.
What Happens Before and During the MQ-25 Test – Lab Trial
In its June 10 announcement, Boeing quoted its engineers who spoke about autonomous flight control software that was “built and tested through years of rigorous validation (…) before the Stingray ever took off from the ground.” The Stingray has 600,000 lines of code governing flight control and flight safety, and has undergone 200,000 hours of laboratory testing and more than 1,000 hours of ground testing in its first flying aircraft.
The AVP of the UCAMCS MD-5 GCS does not control the autonomous Stingray “via traditional sticks and throttles,” which “presents unique and new challenges.”
“AVP establishes the waypoints and flight path over which the aircraft will fly,” the company explains. “The ground control station, known as the Unmanned Carrier Air Mission Control System (UMCS), then pushes a button to send commands to the Stingray, such as taxi, takeoff and landing. The Stingray’s onboard autonomy translates the commands and manages all onboard systems, including propulsion, subsystems, guidance and flight control,” Boeing added.
The current MQ-25A Stingray is significantly different from the Boeing-owned T1 test asset that first flew in 2019 and is “equipped with more advanced autonomous software and emergency management systems.” According to Mark Dunn, MQ-25 Mission Systems Integration Product Team Leader, the new software specifically helps “seamlessly and safely integrate the MQ-25A with the carrier air wing.”
Engineers separated and isolated software and hardware inspections. Testing of the software began “three years before the first flight” in the lab against the exact computer installed inside the aircraft, the Vehicle Management System Computer (VMSC).
The team then “added airplane components to the lab setup,” including “actual actuators of the airplane’s hydraulic and electrical systems.” This phase assessed whether VMSC correctly implemented its autonomous software and emergency management system.
aircraft testing
Following successful laboratory work, the aircraft received the same VMSC. “We had to induce every possible (emergency) scenario the aircraft could experience in flight and ensure that the aircraft responded autonomously as intended,” said Juan Cajigas, MQ-25 chief engineer.
America 250 Celebration 🇺🇸
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the MQ-25A T1 prototype was mounted aboard the USS Nimitz, providing a glimpse of what the Navy’s aircraft carrier will look like in the future. A special “Boeing Backs America” emblem highlights Boeing’s support for American aviation. pic.twitter.com/hbFYXtCxfK
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) June 29, 2026
“In the lab, engineers intentionally introduced failures such as loss of GPS navigation, engine failure, or loss of communication with the AVP to see how the autonomous software and emergency management system would react. One particular test involved intentionally injecting a Stingray with a situation where it lost communication with the AVP and seeing if the system triggered a “return and landing behavior” designed to direct the aircraft to autonomously return to its departure airfield and land.
