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General Atomics MQ-25 Stingray

2017 MODERN AIRCRAFT X-PLANE DRONE TECHNOLOGY

History

There are still three major players in the revised United States Navy (USN) unmanned aerial tanker program - Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Atomics (Boeing is a notable backer ). Northrop Grumman abandoned the MQ-25 Stingray design when the Navy moved from its original Unmanned Carrier-Based Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) approach to a tanker/reconnaissance-focused design. plan. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Incorporated (GA-ASI) is a proven player in the drone market and manufacturer of the well-known "Predator" product line, which aims to compete with well-known industry heavyweights Boeing and Lockheed.

Same with Sid -- price this potentially billion-dollar purchase and expected year-over-year support participation.

The United States Navy is the largest naval power in the world, second to none, with the largest collection of aircraft carriers in the world.

General Atomics Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), still in development, is said to be the basis for its Stingray proposal. As such, the design shares many external similarities with the aircraft, including a rear-mounted air intake for intake of a single-engine unit, an outwardly sloping "V-shaped" tail assembly, and a retractable tricycle landing gear.

The fuselage is well contoured and fitted with associated auxiliary equipment such as avionics and fuel. As with many other medium to large military drones, the engine is located at the rear of the design. Unlike the Avenger's pseudo-fused-wing body approach, the Stingray proposal's winged main aircraft is mounted high along the sides of the fuselage, with each unit covered with winglets for added stability and fuel efficiency. The fuselage has a sensor bubble in the "chin" position that allows the platform to conduct basic Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) outings (now part of the US Navy requirement).

A fuel tank will be installed under each main-wing aircraft to meet the US Navy's requirements for the primary fuel supply. Additionally, the aircraft will have some specific stealth features, a snap hook for landing on the launcher and sports folding wings for launcher storage.

This is in addition to the usual requirements of naval aircraft, such as protection from corrosive salt spray and reinforced landing gear for the rigors of the carrier's operations.

Internally, General Atomics' MQ-25A product is set to be fully autonomous, with the system actively reading commands/commands for the movement of the flight baton on the deck.

General Atomics is currently (2018) ground testing its Pratt & Whitney Canada PW815 turbofan engine in Stingray, which is rated at around 16,000 pounds of thrust, which is comparable to the relatively weak PWC PW545B representing the Avengers The turbofan engine is different. The company hopes to meet and/or exceed all the performance specifications required by the Navy - including the all-important range capability the aircraft needs to operate far from its "mother ship" and over vast swaths of unforgiving and turbulent oceans.

One thing to note is that the PW815 is not a military-certified engine, which may violate the GA-ASI proposal.

The

Stingray family is expected to be regularly operated by the Nimitz- and Ford-class supercarriers currently in the U.S. Navy fleet. Each design must deliver approximately 14,000 pounds of fuel to the manned fighter jet via a standard cone-tube refueling pod, while ground operators remain part of the refueling equation (via live video and communications links).

The Navy wants to unleash its fleet of active F/A-18 Super Hornets, which are currently being refitted for the "partner tank" role, allowing the platforms to return to combat readiness. Of course, the MQ-25 will also be the primary fuel supplier for the new Lockheed F-35 Lightning II VTOL aircraft, which will also be acquired by the U.S.

Navy.

In the early stages of the Stingray program, a formal design selection will take place in August 2018, after which the service will receive a small number of drones for active evaluation. If the program achieves the desired results, the U.S.

Navy will continue to procure up to 72 MQ-25A unmanned aerial vehicles to operate aircraft carrier decks around the world.

Interestingly, Boeing strongly supports General Atomics' program and has funded/sponsored its own unique design (detailed elsewhere on this site) - an indication of how important the program is to the company.

As the project is still in development at the time of publication, this article will be updated as new information allows. The performance and construction specifications shown on this page are the authors' estimates and will be updated accordingly as new information permits.