Boeing is currently conducting ground tests on its prototype aircraft designed for the U.S. Navy's MQ-25 program, according to Aviation Week. The Navy is looking for an unmanned tanker that can operate from an aircraft carrier and pass fuel to other carrier-based jets, such as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, greatly extending the operational range of Navy carrier flights.

In October 2017, the Naval Air Systems Command issued a request for proposals for MQ-25 "Stingray" designs. Boeing's Phantom Works, the advanced prototype division, is offering a clean-sheet design called T-1. Work on a version of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) started in 2012, when the Navy was instead interested in a reconnaissance and strike UAV, and the T-1 prototype was rolled out at Lambert Field in St. Louis for the first time in November 2014, according to Aviation Week. Boeing kept the aircraft hidden from the public until the end of last year when the first photos were released.

Even now, Phantom Works is keeping much of the design information about the T-1 quiet. The exact size and shape of the wings, engine manufacturer, avionics, level of autonomy, and other flight systems have not been revealed. The official photos of T-1 from Boeing carefully obscure major design details, though spy shots of the aircraft have started to leak out. What we do know from the photos is that the T-1 uses a blended wing-body-tail airfoil with folding, high-aspect-ratio wings and a V-tail. The craft will also use the same Cobham aerial refueling system, or “buddy pod,” used by Super Hornets to make ad hoc tankers out of the fighters, as reported by Aviation Week.

The Navy program requirements specify that the tanker be capable of passing 14,000 lbs. of fuel to other aircraft at a range of 500 nautical miles from the carrier. Interestingly enough, the T-1 is not the only prototype Boeing is working on in an attempt to win the MQ-25 contract. A recently created division of the company, Boeing Autonomous Systems, is working with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems on another MQ-25 prototype. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works also responded to the Navy request for proposals to offer its own UAV carrier-based tanker design.

Phantom Works tested the T-1 on the ground at Lambert Field, making sure the craft can maneuver on a painted outline of an aircraft carrier flight deck. Deployed on a carrier, the T-1 would need to be able to fold up its wings and slot into any of the tight spots where a fighter such as a Super Hornet can fit.

"We have been conducting flight deck demonstrations to test the agility and ability of the aircraft," Deborah VanNierop, a spokesperson for Boeing, told Popular Mechanics in an email. "We have successfully controlled the aircraft through all of the most challenging flight deck scenarios, including day and night operations, designed to show how the aircraft can be taxied and operated within the tight confines of the carrier flight deck."

Before flight tests, Phantom Works is finishing work on the T-1 specified in the U.S. Navy requirements. "We can’t share exactly when the aircraft is due to fly, but it will likely happen sometime after the contract award in August," says VanNierop.

Boeing sees MQ-25 as a critical contract to win for the future of its military aviation divisions. After losing the lucrative Joint Strike Fighter contract to Lockheed Martin (F-35) and the Long Range Strike Bomber contract to Northrop Grumman (B-21), Boeing is eager to win the MQ-25 unmanned carrier-based tanker, the Air Force T-X jet trainer, or both.

“We’ve put together a good proposal against the requirements,” Phantom Works MQ-25 program director Don “BD” Gaddis told Aviation Week. “My boss [Leanne Caret, the head of Boeing Defense, Space & Security] sees MQ-25 as a franchise program for the company, and she wants to win it, as does my CEO [Dennis Muilenburg]. We are going to go out and win this thing.”

You can learn more about Boeing's MQ-25 prototype, and see exclusive photos, at Aviation Week & Space Technology.

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