Boeing is turning the MQ-25 Stingray drone into an electronic warfare heavyweight
- Boeing receives $12.68 million investment to update the MQ-25's RF blanker, encrypted storage, and mission computer security, running through November 2029
- The change is a recent one: the Navy's April 2026 acquisition report lists refueling as the MQ-25's primary mission and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) as secondary, with no electronic warfare requirement and only two key performance parameters
- An RF blanker is electromagnetic compatibility hardware that stops an aircraft's own transmitters from deafening its receivers, allowing it to conduct EW more effectively
A single line buried in a recent US Department of War contract announcement is being read across multiple channels as the Navy's first carrier-based drone acquiring multiple electronic warfare upgrades.
The details, however, seem to focus on the defensive side of the spectrum and include a Radio Frequency Blanker Unit and an updated Encrypted Mass Storage System carrying an embedded Data Transfer System.
The modification also provides...
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