Boeing MQ-25 Prototype Refuels E-2D Advanced Hawkeye - USNI News

Boeing’s prototype for the Navy’s first unmanned aerial tanker successfully refueled its second aircraft type in a test over Illinois, the service announced on Thursday.

The MQ-25 T1 prototype topped off an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye flown by the in a series of test flights from MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., just outside of St. Louis.

“During the six-hour flight, Navy E-2D pilots from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Zero (VX) 20 approached T1, performed formation evaluations, wake surveys, drogue tracking and plugs with the MQ-25 test asset at 220 knots calibrated airspeed (KCAS) and 10,000 feet,” according to a release from Naval Air Systems Command.
“This test allows the program to analyze the aerodynamic interaction of the two aircraft. The team can then determine if any adjustments to guidance and control are required and make those software updates early, with no impact to the developmental test schedule.”

The promise for the E-2D, now equipped with an aerial refueling capability, is to stay aloft longer for better awareness around the carrier strike group.