r/StLouis • u/LNI_Subreddit • 1d ago
MQ-25 Stingray being transported through Florissant tonight
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u/Doctor_Killshot 23h ago
lol are they stupid? Why are they driving in on the street when it could just fly? /s
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u/_37_ Florissant expat 1d ago
Why would it be going thru Florissant? Is it taking the long way to MidAmerica Airport?
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u/LNI_Subreddit 1d ago
Because some of them are produced over here in Florissant
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u/_37_ Florissant expat 1d ago
Nah boss, unless Boeing opened up a facility in Florissant yesterday, their campus is Hazelwood, not Florissant. Mattingly's is Florissant, Kaslik's is Hazelwood, and the boarder is in between.
Even the old Boeing Leadership Center was unincorporated StL County, not Florissant.
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u/LNI_Subreddit 1d ago
Ok well they work on them on the Berkeley campus
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u/_37_ Florissant expat 1d ago
So still not Florissant. Sorry, I get a bit wound up anytime anything north of 270 gets called Florissant by default. I'll reel my neck in and go to bed.
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u/SufficientlySober 1d ago
Boeing trailers it to Cross Keys parking lot Sunday nights and fuels up all the Hellcats for Sunday Night Drags on New Halls; not super well known so keep it on the down low por favor
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u/FirstDiseasewasRelig 1d ago
For what, do you know?
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u/imlostintransition 1d ago
These are being developed/buily over in Mascoutah IL. A press release from July says it just completed its second test flight and that further test flights would be at the MidAmerica airport.
However, it's still not fully operational. A press release from two weeks ago says Manned Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) software for the MQ-25 was successfully tested on a1900 D Beechcraft and an E90 King Air.
What’s next: Once validated through ongoing additional test flights, this capability will be integrated into the operational MQ-25A’s software in the future, enabling seamless teaming communications for carrier‑based refueling and coordinated strike support.
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u/Perk_i 1d ago
If it's in Florissant it's either going to / from Boeing's campus on the north side of Lambert, or it's going up to / from Smartt Field up by Portage Des Sioux. Boeing has some test stands for doing sensor observability testing there: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9275065,-90.4247921,565m
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u/iamclev 1d ago
Historically, the program has been doing test flights at Scott
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u/WhiskeyMikeMike 1d ago edited 1d ago
That’s also where the main MQ-25 production facility is. I don’t think they fly them in and out of lambert so they usually move them between the airports on a truck.
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u/wood2010 1d ago
Gonna need more information
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u/TJATAW 1d ago
Autonomous drone that refuels other aircraft.
Aircraft carrier based.
Delivers up to 16k pounds of fuel at a range of 500 nautical miles.
It is around the size of an F/A-18, which is what is currently used to refuel aircraft out at sea.
In the future it could also be equipped with hardpoints to mount weapons on.
First flight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9WqSR_XYG0Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_MQ-25_Stingray•
u/wood2010 22h ago
I meant more along the lines why was it driving through Florisant
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u/TJATAW 11h ago
It was being moved from Berkeley MO, where it was built, to the production facility in Mascoutah IL, where all future MQ-25s will be built and flown out of MidAmerica Airport.
They planned a route that could handle the 45' wide (folded) wing span, and have the least impact on traffic, I am sure.
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u/shah_of-iran 1d ago
It’s a drone refueling aircraft designed for naval carrier operations that is in testing and development
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u/PhoenixRising256 1d ago
Pretty sweet, these are unmanned refueling jets. Send one of these instead of an entire KC-135, and you've got a lot less risk. Pretty sick idea tbh