The U.S. Navy awarded a Fixed Price Incentive contract to The Boeing Company, for the MQ-25A Stingray Lot 1 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), valued at $562,000,000.

The contract provides the funds for three LRIP Lot 1 MQ-25As and additional funding for the advanced acquisition of long lead components to support three LRIP Lot 2 MQ-25As. Initial deliveries from Lot 1 are expected to begin in 2029.

“Awarding this first LRIP contract marks a pivotal transition from development to operational reality and is a testament to the focused effort of our joint government and industry teams,” said Capt. Daniel Fucito, Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager (PMA-268). “MQ-25A will deliver the advanced reach, lethality, and survivability our warfighters need to outpace evolving threats and dominate the future battlespace.”

In May, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced that the MQ-25A Stingray program received Milestone C approval to move into the Production and Deployment phase.

The MQ-25Aprogram of record iscomprisedof 76 air vehicles to include four Engineering Development and Manufacturing (EDM)s and five System Demonstration Test Articles.Currently, seven test aircraft are in production at Boeing St. Louis and the dedicated MQ-25 production facility in Mascoutah, Illinois.

As the world’s first fully integrated, carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle, the MQ-25A serves as the pathfinder for the future of unmanned carrier aviation. The Stingray will provide the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) with essential organic refueling, allowing more F/A-18E/F aircraft to focus on strike missions. This will expand the operational reach of the air wing while preserving the service life of F/A-18E/Fs, improving readiness across the Super Hornet fleet. The Stingray is also at the forefront of integrating unmanned systems alongside manned platforms within the CVW, setting the stage for future advancements in naval aviation.

PMA-268 manages and integrates the MQ-25A Stingray air system and Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System that commands and controls the aircraft.

By Neil Lobeda, Unmanned Carrier Aviation, Sept. 14, 2026