US carrier links with MQ-25A drone via satellite from 2,100 miles away

The US Navy remotely connected to and controlled an MQ-25A Stingray drone from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan more than 2,100 miles away, with the aircraft at Boeing's Mascoutah, Illinois facility. The link used a pLEO satellite network and an MD-5C ground control station; no autonomous flight, refueling or carrier landing was reported.

• Link ran from USS Ronald Reagan in the Pacific to Boeing's Mascoutah, Illinois site
• Connection used a pLEO satellite network and Lockheed Martin's MD-5C station
• Test validated connectivity and control, not autonomous flight or refueling
• MQ-25A is set to become the Navy's first carrier-based unmanned tanker