Boeing's drone prototype for the US Navy's MQ-25 programme - Boeing

Boeing has unveiled its ‘secret’ plane - a new high-tech refuelling drone - following a cryptic build-up to its big reveal yesterday.

The company hopes to secure a contract from the US Navy that means this unmanned aircraft system (UAS) will serve its MQ-25 Stingray programme, and would refuel fighter jets that operate from aircraft carriers, in mid-air.

The drones, operated remotely, would be ejected from war ships in the same manner as these fighter jets, the aim being for them to deliver the jets with 15,000 pounds of fuel, 500 nautical miles from the carrier.

Earlier Boeing teased us with an image of the drone still under wraps Credit: Twitter

The Navy is accepting proposals from competing manufacturers until January 3 - with Boeing insisting that its design is "best suited".

The drone been equipped with refuelling capabilities that would help expand the combat range of the US Navy’s existing fighter jets, which include Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler.

The new plane is completing its engine tests on the ground and will be ready for flight testing and deck handling demonstrations early next year, the company states. It has yet to confirm a date for the drone's first flight test.

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“Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for almost 90 years,” Don ‘BD’ Gaddis, a retired admiral who leads the refuelling system programme for Phantom Works, said in a statement.

“Our expertise gives us confidence in our approach", the company added.

Inside the aircraft of the future

While there aren't any current plans to modify the latest drone prototype for passenger plane use, the company is said to have other commercial aviation projects in the pipeline, those these remain under wraps, according to a spokesperson for Phantom Works, Boeing’s advanced design division which has focussed on several highly classified projects and built Boeing's MQ-25 drone.

Boeing’s joins two other companies competing for the Navy contract, which include Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer known to be working with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to build “greener, safer and quieter” supersonic passenger aircraft, as well as California-based contractor General Atomics.

A rendering of Lockheed Martin's series of X-planes fueled by green energy being designed for NASA Credit: NASA / LILLIAN GIPSON

While Lockheed Martin has yet to reveal the full details of its entry, General Atomics’ Sea Avenger design concept has a similar look to Boeing’s, designed as an updated version of the General Atomics Predator C/Avenger unmanned aircraft.

Both planes feature wide v-tails, a dorsal inlet and a chined fuselage, among other elements, as noted by The Drive.

A rendering of General Atomics' Sea Avenger proposal for the MQ-25 competition Credit: General Atomics

Earlier this year, Boeing was also selected by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the XS-1 space plane that would be “the first of an entirely new class of hypersonic aircraft” that would provide “short-notice, low-cost access to space”, DARPA stated.

The company also recently acquired Aurora Flight Sciences, which last year won a contract to build the XV-24A LightningStrike VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) plane for the DARPA design competition. Aurora has reportedly been developing electric-powered aircraft for long-haul flights for both commercial and military purposes.

Boeing's XV-24A LightningStrike plane Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The US Navy is expected to select the winner of its development contract later next year.



