US Navy MQ-25A Stingray enters LRIP and deployment phase

The US Navy says the MQ-25A Stingray has reached Milestone C and is moving into low-rate initial production and deployment as the first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Its primary innovation is integrating unmanned aerial refueling into the carrier air wing, extending carrier strike group reach while freeing F/A-18E/Fs from the tanker mission.