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Lockheed MQ-25 Stingray

2017 MODERN AIRCRAFT X-PLANE DRONE TECHNOLOGY

The History of the Lockheed MQ-25 Stingray

The United States Navy (USN) initially sought an attack-oriented Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) UAV and developed the Unmanned Carrier Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program around this requirement. The enterprise is based on the idea of ??a long-range stealth airspace penetrator that could also be used as an armed reconnaissance platform if needed, operating on both the U.S. Navy's Nimitz- and Ford-class "supercarriers." The usual defense industry buyers are involved: Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

However, the U.S. Navy eventually changed the requirement to become an unmanned aerial tanker, allowing Northrop to take the initiative to better serve the company's interests elsewhere (unfortunately, given that the company is actively testing its Good early progress has been made with the X-47B UAV, an area that scores carrier decks in the US Navy).

Only Boeing, General Atomics, and Lockheed are left, and interestingly, Boeing is also a big backer of General Atomics (which is based on the Sea Avenger drone detailed elsewhere on this site).

Artist rendering of the Lockheed MQ-25 "Stingray" proposal from 2017 (note that this predates the USN program request revision and was removed from UCLASS later that year) using a true triangular shape with the wings combined with the fuselage into an elegant "flying wing" aircraft. The single engine is mounted aft of the fuselage, sucking in through a dorsal air intake above (and behind) the nose, and exhaust through a ring in the stern. An external fuel tank is shown mounted along the belly of the aircraft's belly. The Lockheed Stingray is mounted on a retractable wheeled tricycle landing gear that should be reinforced for the rigors of shipborne operations.

A retractable searing hook (mounted below the rearmost end of the hull) aids carrier deck landings and assists in catapult launch. Folding the wings allows the Stingray to have a smaller footprint on the aircraft carrier's hangar deck -- the wings fold about halfway above the wing root.

Commercial single engines are suitable for design combinations as this approach reduces logistical and maintenance complexity while utilizing proven power sources. According to the details provided, the MQ-25 will be a subsonic performer, with some additional influence on this growing program of course from Lockheed's previous stealth programs, such as the upcoming F-35 "Lightning II" - Including MQ - won - 25 Stingray should borrow his tricycle landing gear.

The flight-only wing shape (for some) offers the best prospects for the desired long-range, long-lived aircraft because it inherently promotes strong aerodynamic principles, including natural lift characteristics; it also provides better than conventional arrangements of fuselage, main aircraft and tail. Lockheed's original design direction for UCLASS was a "batwing"-shaped invisible "sea ghost", so the MQ-25 was a bit of a departure from that initiative.

The vehicle currently presented is expected to influence the upcoming Lockheed MQ-25 Stingray proposal - which directly competes with Boeing's MQ-25 product, which is described in detail elsewhere on this site and via a press release picture display. General Atomics is also running and is slowly forming its own Stingray commit.

The US Navy plans to deploy about 72 drones on its supercarrier fleet (the most powerful warships in the world) to serve as an entire fleet of aerial tankers. These will be used to replace the currently operating fleet of now-refitted F/A-18 Super Hornets, which are currently equipped in the air tanker role (as "partner tankers"), thereby freeing up these airframes To continue his original life as a strike fighter role.

Additionally, unmanned aerial systems do not compromise pilot safety in wartime and may sometimes be better than manned aircraft, which require additional avionics and life support systems.

The MQ-25 is designed to carry over 14,000 pounds of aviation fuel and operates using existing refueling technology found in current generation strike fighters such as the Super Hornet series, namely their deployable fuel probes. The range is expected to be about 500 nautical miles from the carrier's source to allow the UAS to fly back. Operators with live cameras in Stingray will be involved in refueling operations, assuming that refueling in fully autonomous flight of the fighter is still years (maybe decades) away.

The Buddy Refueling Pod will be an existing USN design and the MQ-25 will be carried under the starboard underside hard point. Port hardpoints are reserved for special mission pods or ordnance. There is also a retractable, sensor-equipped lateral ball unit along the port.

Lockheed's MQ-25 won't be as fully autonomous as General Atomics' model envisions. Instead, the pilot will be part of the operational flow, especially during the deck movement phase.

A human pilot will control the aircraft through a wide-angle live camera with zoom capability to better coordinate with the deck crew.