Aerial refueling pods for MQ-25 Stingray tested by NAWCAD
NewsApril 06, 2023
NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Maryland. Engineers at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) are testing the U.S. Navy's current fleet of aerial refueling store pods for compatibility with the new MQ-25 Stingray air-to-air refueling tanker in an effort to save money, Naval Air Systems Command said in a statement.
The existing pods, which are used on F/A-18s, are expected to reach their end-of-life in 2025. The MQ-25 requires dozens of pods to be delivered between now and 2035.
Approximately 200 pods are in inventory, each carrying 2,000 lbs. of fuel. NAVAIR says the life-extension testing could enable the pods to operate with the Stingray fleet through 2040. New fuel pods cost the Navy about $2.2 million each, but refurbishing the existing pods could cost less than half that amount, the statement reads.
To test the pods' frame integrity, NAWCAD engineers and technicians developed a custom test rig featuring hydraulic arms that simulate gravity and acceleration forces from flight data. After running 6,292 unique cases of flight data, the tests showed no visual damage to the pod shells, NAVAIR says. The team will now send the tested pod to Flight Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida, for further evaluation and to determine whether refurbishment is the best solution.
