X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) launches from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 2013. US Navy Photo
USNI News: It’s Official: ‘MQ-25A Stingray’ U.S. Navy’s Name For First Carrier UAV
After months of deliberation, the name and designation of the Navy’s first carrier unmanned aerial vehicle are now official: MQ-25A Stingray, service officials told USNI News this week.
Approved following a lengthy U.S. Air Force Material Command process for not only for the official “designation” (MQ-25A) but also the “popular name” (Stingray), the service can now have an official title for the unmanned aerial vehicle that’s had several labels since late last year. The word came to the Navy via a July 11 memo from the Air Force.
(Technically, as of Friday, the designation is ZMQ-25A until a contract is awarded for the airframe when the Stingray will shed the Z).
The final name is an indication of marked changes in the character of the program for the aircraft that the service hopes will launch from catapults and recover with arresting wires in the next several years.
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WNU Editor: The U.S. Navy .... when compared to the U.S. Air Force .... is behind in the development of unmanned aerial technologies. But this official designation is a signal that US Navy now wants to catch up.
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