US Navy and Boeing together did their first-ever demonstration of air-to-air refueling a F/A-18 fighter jet using an unmanned MQ-25 T1 aircraft. The MQ-25 T1 which is owned by Boeing successfully extended the hose and drogue from ARS and successfully transferred jet fuel to US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet. ARS is the Aerial Refuelling Store which is issued by the US Navy.

Leanne Caret, who is the president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security said that “This history-making event is a credit to our joint Boeing and Navy team that is all-in on delivering MQ-25’s critical aerial refueling capability to the fleet as soon as possible,”

The F/A-18 pilot flew very close to the MQ-25 and tested a maneuver that requires as little as 20 ft between the MQ-25 T1 and the F/A-18 refueling probe, in the first part of the mission.

See photos and a video from the historical test mission below.

Photo credits and more: YouTube

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