An X-47B during a March 2015 test flight. US Navy Photo
Northrop Grumman will not compete to build the service’s MQ-25A Stingray aerial refueling unmanned aerial vehicle despite being the developer of the test platform that proved a UAV could take off and land from an aircraft carrier. Read More
Artist’s Concept of the General Atomics MQ-25 Stingray. GA Image used with permission
Naval Air Systems Command has quietly released the final request for proposals to industry for the unmanned MQ-25 Stingray aerial tanker, USNI News has learned. Read More
Boeing image of the company’s MQ-25A Stingray bid. USNI News Photo
The inclusion of the unmanned MQ-25 Stingray aerial tanker into the U.S. carrier air wing could increase the effective strike range of the strike fighters aboard aircraft carriers by up to 400 nautical miles, the commander of Naval Air Forces told U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings. Read More
An early artist’s concept of the General Atomics Sea Avenger taken from a display monitor. The design shows a wing-body-tail configuration US Naval Institute Photo
POWAY, Calif. – The Navy, in its latest draft request for proposals issued last month, pitched four major defense firms to submit concepts for a future unmanned aerial refueling tanker that top officials say could be flying with the first aircraft carrier wing as early as 2019 or 2020. Read More
The Bell V-247 tiltrotor is an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that will combine the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, and would provide long-endurance persistent expeditionary and surveillance and fires capabilities. Bell Image
Getting reliability, maintenance and a backbone built on open architecture right first is how the Pentagon is approaching its future vertical lift programs, defense officials said on Tuesday. Read More
Boeing image of the company’s MQ-25A Stingray bid. USNI News Photo
The Navy issued its latest draft request for proposals for what will be the service’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle, U.S. Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday. Read More
Lockheed Martin MQ-25A Concept. Lockheed Martin Image
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) will be the first two carriers to field the Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling tanker, a spokesperson told USNI News. Read More
A sailor welds during the ongoing maintinance availability for carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on June 26, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated following Pentagon and Navy press briefings on the FY 2018 budget.
THE PENTAGON – The Department of the Navy’s $180-billion budget request sets out to improve overall readiness of the Navy and the Marine Corps while making only modest asks for new aircraft and ships. Read More
MQ-8C Fire Scout returns from a test mission on the Point Mugu Sea Range in Point Mugu, Calif. US Navy Photo
As the Navy pursues a new anti-ship weapon for its Littoral Combat Ships, Northrop Grumman is pitching its MQ-8C Fire Scout to help the crew find their targets hundreds of miles away. Read More
Lockheed Martin MQ-25A bid. Lockheed Martin Photo
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s latest revised list of requirements for its carrier-based unmanned aerial tanker will likely push all four competitors to redesign their bids, the head of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Work division said on Tuesday. Read More
