The Navy awarded Boeing a $562 million fixed-price incentive contract on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, to begin Lot 1 low-rate initial production of the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned tanker, Defense News reported Tuesday. The award covers three Lot 1 aircraft and additional funding for components to support three Lot 2 MQ-25As, with initial Lot 1 deliveries slated for 2029.

Boeing’s MQ-25A is set to become the Defense Department’s first unmanned tanker and the Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft, Defense News reported. The program of record includes 67 operational aircraft and nine test aircraft. The Stingray is supposed to deliver at least 14,000 pounds of fuel over 500 nautical miles — roughly Super Hornet tanker capacity — according to a GAO report cited by Defense News.

Stars and Stripes reported that in May, acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao authorized moving the MQ-25 program from research, engineering and development into the production and deployment phase — the production decision that cleared the way for this LRIP award. Defense News noted Cao had teed up the LRIP and deployment announcement in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in May.

The Navy completed its first successful Stingray test flight on April 25, 2026, Defense News reported, and estimates flight tests will continue through the end of this year. The Pentagon expects initial operational capability around 2029. In March, USS Theodore Roosevelt became the first Navy carrier equipped with an Unmanned Air Warfare Center supporting the MQ-25A, Defense News reported — a milestone toward integrating the tanker into carrier air wings so Super Hornets can shed buddy-tanking and focus on strike.

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