New Boeing Phantom Works UAV unveiled

Boeing have pulled the black sheet off and revealed the MQ-25, a refuelling UAV.

boeing.mediaroom.com...-117

Anyone else got any more pics of this? Is it based on the Swift? Looks too small to be a carrier based refuelling platform but the lack of crew space may do the trick.

a reply to: helldiver

a reply to: slapjacks

Isn't that an NG bird?

they generally dont use large crafts on aircraft carriers for refueling so it fits the bill just fine and probly is far more efficient at it then the standard planes that require a pilot. for example they have f-18's that they use right now. not the best use of an f-18

a reply to: slapjacks

That's Northrop Grumman's X-47B.

a reply to: helldiver

There are no other pics. Boeing won't reveal the entire aircraft until they have to, probably next year when they do deck testing.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: helldiver

There are no other pics. Boeing won't reveal the entire aircraft until they have to, probably next year when they do deck testing.

damn i really was curious about the aft wings on that plane and i dont know anymore about them now then i did with the sheet on it. darn national security

Ah gotcha, I'm a noob when it comes to aircrafts, other than those things they tend to call balloons or swamp gas lol.

Thanks for the correction

a reply to: Zaphod58

Gutted. I was hoping to see what's at the end of those nacelles, if that's what they are. I'm thinking tiltfans. It does look abit like Swift but with upswept nacelles. Maybe they're partly folded.

originally posted by: helldiver
a reply to: Zaphod58

Gutted. I was hoping to see what's at the end of those nacelles, if that's what they are. I'm thinking tiltfans. It does look abit like Swift but with upswept nacelles. Maybe they're partly folded.

others are speculating the same thing aswell. on another note we can imagine the benefits that a stealth refueling platform could add to combat operations. id imagine u can refuel our f-22's and f-35's much closer to a fight then we could otherwise now

a reply to: helldiver

It's a conventional aircraft, not a tiltrotor. It looks like they went the cheap route and just altered their UCLASS design and turned it into a tanker.

a reply to: TheScale

Not with this you can't. It will be able to refuel the F-35B/C, F-18, and if the Navy goes to a wet wing and probe, like Japan, E-2s. Other than those, it could refuel some NATO aircraft if they are operating close enough.

a reply to: Zaphod58

cool thanks for the info

Do you realy think that this thing change airpower at a time of long range fighter like J-20 with long range air/air missile ? It look more like putting bandage on a wood-leg , instead of putting money in it don't you think it wil be better to jump with more speed in FA/XX with long range capability ?
The real new of the week is more Lockheed working with Aerion on supersonic jet , this thing could be more a game changing for the airpower.

a reply to: darksidius

You'd fit right in with the Fighter Mafia.

a reply to: Zaphod58
I think it's time to fit with fighter mafia there is a urgence for a long range fighter.

a reply to: darksidius

The Fighter Mafia is why we have the KC-46 debacle, why our current fighter force is over 30 years old, and why the B-52 will be 100 when it's retired.

But you're right, all we need are fighters. Screw everything else, just build a new long range fighter and our problems will be solved.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: helldiver

It's a conventional aircraft, not a tiltrotor. It looks like they went the cheap route and just altered their UCLASS design and turned it into a tanker.

If it's uclass then i take it the two control surfaces at the rear comprise the v-tail. Any idea why they would have such an oblique angle? Ruddervators maybe?

a reply to: helldiver

It started as UCLASS, but that program died and became the current MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker.

You almost certainly need vertical fins on a tanker, especially one that uses drogues. A flying wing is inherently stealthy, but it has some unusual airflow patterns around the wingtips, where the drogue will hang. The fins will smooth the airflow out. The angle will both change the airflow and reduce any RCS bloom from the tails themselves.

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