Boeing has moved the second MQ-25A Stingray airframe from its St. Louis, Missouri, facility to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, for final assembly before ground testing. The transfer advances production of the U.S. Navy’s carrier-based unmanned tanker, which is intended to take aerial-refuelling duties from F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and release those fighters for combat missions.
The airframe travelled about 25 miles (40 kilometres) by flatbed truck, with its wings folded and fuselage protected by wrapping. Final assembly in Illinois will precede ground testing, although Boeing has not provided dates for either the start of testing or the aircraft’s first flight.
The aircraft shown during the move did not have the three nose-mounted air-data probes or the Cobham Aerial Refuelling Store fitted to the first MQ-25A test aircraft. Those components are expected to be installed during final assembly. The second airframe will join Bureau Number 170662, which is conducting test flights from MidAmerica.
The move reflects the programme’s broader shift towards Illinois for assembly and flight-test preparation. On 19 October, the Navy also demonstrated a beyond-line-of-sight command-and-control link between the MD-5C Ground Control Station aboard USS Ronald Reagan, operating in the Pacific, and the first MQ-25A on the ground in Illinois. That test covered remote connectivity and did not involve flight or carrier operations.