The U.S. Navy awarded a $198 million contract modification to Boeing for the integration of a ground control station that provides command and control capability in support of the MQ-25 carrier-based tanker drone.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense contract announcements, work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (99%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (1%), and is expected to be completed in August 2024.
Also noted that the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
The MQ-25 will be the U.S. Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Boeing is under contract to manufacture seven aircraft that will subsequently go into Navy flight test.
Boeing says an unmanned aircraft system designed for the U.S. Navy mission, it will provide the needed robust refueling capability, thereby extending the combat range of deployed Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and Lockheed Martin F-35C fighters.