U.S. aircraft giant Boeing has conducted the first flight tests of a prototype of the MQ-25 unmanned tanker aircraft with the installed refueling equipment. The tests were carried out in conjunction with specialists from the U.S. Navy and were deemed successful. The MQ-25 received one overhead container with a hose-cone system. The same ones are installed on carrier-based fighters Super Hornet and FIA-18 jet fighters.
The first flight of the MQ-25 with refueling equipment lasted 2.5 hours. Experts have tested the effect of an overhead refueling container on the aerodynamics of an aircraft.
According to the media reports, the flight showed that the autonomous drone's aerodynamics were sound with a wing-mounted pod that it is expected to carry most of the time...MORE
