Boeing Unveils MQ-25’s Land-Based Variant | Aviation

Boeing is working on a larger, land-based variant of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker, which could be able to carry 40% more fuel and refuel drones in contested airspace.

Boeing unveiled, ahead of this year’ Air & Space Forces Association’s Air Space & Cyber Conference which starts on Sept. 16, 2024, a new land-based variant of the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker. The design is being developed internally by the company, but it might be later pitched to the U.S. Air Force as a way to refuel Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) in contested airspace.

Company officials told Aviation Week, which first published the news, that they have been working with the Air Force on this project, although it is not related with the current Next-Generation Aerial Refueling System (NGAS) analysis of alternatives. Aviation Week, however, mentions that NGAS might also include an autonomous tanker for operating in contested environments.

The new land-based design is larger than the standard MQ-25 being developed for the Navy, with the wingspan extended from 75 ft (23 m) to 92 ft (28 m). The increase of the wingspan and the absence of the wing-folding mechanism reportedly allow for a 40% increase of the fuel capacity in the tanker’s wings.

The modifications to the design are…