MQ-25 Stingray

The MQ-25 Stingray is a U.S. Navy unmanned aerial system (UAS) developed primarily for carrier-based aerial refueling to relieve F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from tanker duties, which comprise up to a third of their sorties, while also supporting secondary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) roles. As of early 2026, the program remains in development, with the first operational MQ-25A completing autonomous taxi tests in late January 2026 and first flight now delayed to early 2026, pushing initial operational capability (IOC) to FY2027 amid prior schedule slips of about two years. From a defense-intelligence perspective, it serves as a trailblazer for integrating unmanned systems into carrier operations at scale, enabling manned-unmanned teaming, range extension for carrier air wings, and future collaborative combat aircraft concepts, potentially expanding to other missions like kinetic strikes.