Boeing Moves Second MQ-25 Drone Tanker Toward Testing to Free U.S. Navy Fighter Jets for Combat

Boeing moved the second MQ-25A Stingray unmanned tanker from St. Louis to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, for final assembly before ground testing. Announced on October 26, 2026, the transfer advances a development aircraft rather than marking its first flight or operational deployment. The carrier-based tanker is intended to assume refuelling missions currently performed by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, with a Navy objective of delivering at least 14,000 pounds of fuel 500 nautical miles from the carrier. Boeing has not announced when this aircraft will begin ground tests or join flight testing.