Boeing Moves Second MQ-25A Stingray Airframe to Illinois for Final Assembly

The airframe is being trucked from Boeing’s St. Louis facility to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, for final assembly ahead of ground testing.

Boeing Defense and Space released a video on Oct. 26, 2026, showing the second MQ-25A Stingray unmanned refueler being rolled out of its facility in St. Louis, Missouri. The company said it is being moved from St. Louis to MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, “where it will undergo final assembly before beginning ground testing.”

The unmanned aircraft, with its wings folded and fuselage covered in white protective wrapping, is first towed by a tug and then transported on a flatbed truck. The airframe will travel approximately 25 miles (40 km) from St. Louis to Mascoutah.

The aircraft shown in the video does not appear to have the three nose-mounted air-data probes visible on the first MQ-25A test aircraft, and the Cobham Aerial Refueling Store (ARS) is also absent. These are among the components that will be installed once the aircraft reaches its destination.

At Mascoutah, the new MQ-25A will join the first airframe, Bureau Number (BuNo.) 170662, which has been conducting test flights from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. On Oct. 19, the Navy announced that that airframe was controlled for the first time through a MD-5C Ground Control Station (GCS) aboard the Nimitz-class carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

Stingray is making moves.

The second MQ-25A moved from St. Louis to MidAmerica Airport @BLVairport, where it will undergo final assembly before beginning ground testing. https://t.co/JdvIvOiFT3

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) October 26, 2026

The Navy announced on Sept. 30, 2026, that installation and integration of the UAWC aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), which houses the MD-5C GCS, had been completed in August. The first UAWC was installed aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in 2024.

The carrier-control demonstration marks a step toward integrating the MQ-25A into carrier operations, although the program’s broader schedule has slipped and it is unsure if the service will go ahead with the planned carrier integration by 2026.

On Sept. 14, 2026, the Navy awarded Boeing a $562 million contract for Lot 1 of the MQ-25A’s Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP), whose deliveries are expected to begin in 2029. The award funds three aircraft and advance procurement of long-lead components for three more under Lot 2, bringing the total number of MQ-25As under contract to 14.

Stingray’s recent test controlled from a carrier

The MQ-25A is primarily intended to take over the aerial-refueling role currently performed by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, allowing more of the crewed aircraft to focus on strike missions. The MQ-25, instead of being controlled by a human pilot on board, will be controlled through the MD-5C GCS by personnel aboard the aircraft carrier.

An MQ-25A freshly painted in U.S. Navy livery shown on the ramp in Illinois. | Source: Boeing/Kelsey Chadwick The MD-5C GCS is also intended to provide Command and Control (C2) for the Navy’s future unmanned carrier aircraft. These potentially include Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), as the service aspires to add even more unmanned aircraft into its fleet.

During the Oct. 19 demonstration, USS Ronald Reagan’s shipboard MD-5C GCS established a beyond-line-of-sight command-and-control link with the MQ-25A while the carrier was underway in the Pacific. The aircraft itself remained on the ground at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois.

Boeing explained the aircraft used a Skyhook antenna to connect to the SpaceX satellite constellation. The Navy initially only described the connection as operating over a proliferated low Earth orbit (pLEO) satellite network, without explicitly naming SpaceX.

Boeing said command-and-control protocols were routed to the shipboard MD-5C GCS through the Navy’s command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) network, using spaceborne and terrestrial networks. Navy Air Vehicle Pilots (AVP) aboard the carrier then took control of the aircraft for a series of operational checks before handing control back to the MidAmerica team.

@PAEAviation @flynavy https://t.co/7BhchRh6yr

— Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao (@SECNAV) October 19, 2026

The trial validated an end-to-end BLOS command-and-control capability. The “sustained BLOS link, enabled a safe handoff and hand back between ground and ship teams, and demonstrated command latency and link integrity consistent with operational requirements,” Boeing added.

MD-5C GCS

On Sept. 30, the Navy announced that installation and integration of the UAWC aboard USS Ronald Reagan had been completed in August. The work involved 11 ship modifications, all completed concurrently during a single 17-month period rather than through the Navy’s typical multiyear, phased approach.

The MD-5C GCS brings together the Navy’s C4I network, Lockheed Martin’s MDCX mission-planning and execution hardware and software, and additional government-produced equipment. The Navy says it has developed shore-based, at-sea, and expeditionary variants of the MD-5 control system to support operations in different environments.

“This is a testament to the dedication, technical expertise, and synergy of our joint government and industry teams,” said Capt. Daniel Fucito, Unmanned Carrier Aviation Program Office PMA-268 program manager. “With each new install and milestone, we are closing the gap for our warfighters to give them the capability, capacity, and lethality they need to win the fight.”

The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)’s new Unmanned Air Warfare Center houses the Navy’s MD-5C Ground Control Stations that will command and control the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueler and future unmanned carrier aircraft. | Source: U.S. Navy