World First: US Navy refuels jet mid-air with unmanned drone

Published

3 years ago

June 8, 2021

Anthony Lucas

The US Navy has refueled an aircraft using an unmanned drone for the first time in history

The drone, dubbed MQ-25 Stingray, uses the Navy’s probe-and-drogue refuelling method.

The operation took place near Mascoutah, Illinois, with an FA-18 Super Hornet.

The Navy says the carrier-based drone will be the world’s first unmanned tanker to provide critical aerial refuelling and intelligence.

During the flight, the Super Hornet approached the drone from behind and were as close as 20 feet from each other, Boeing said.

Mid-flight, the hose extended from the drone, and the Super Hornet connected with the drogue at the end of the hose to receive the fuel.

Boeing’s drone transferred 325 of the 500 pounds of fuel available during the approximately 4.5-hour test flight, Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director, said during a press conference Monday.

The US Navy says the carrier-based drone will be the world’s first unmanned tanker to provide critical aerial refuelling and intelligence.

“This is a significant and exciting moment for the Navy and shows concrete progress toward realising MQ-25’s capabilities for the fleet,”
US Navy Captain Chad Reed said.

It comes as the US military juggernaut faces ever-increasing challenges around the world, particularly in the South China Sea.

Is GenerativeAI transforming education?

Published

7 hours ago

May 3, 2024

ticker NEWS

Educators today are facing an uphill battle, so what’s the solution?

Today’s educators are passionate, but they’re up against diverse classrooms and outdated teaching methods.

In this episode, Trevor Furness, Chief Revenue Officer of Octopus B-I discuss their efforts to transform education. #funding futures

How AI is leveraging Amazon’s fast production

Published

1 day ago

May 2, 2024

Nathan Langridge

Amazon reported better-than-expected results for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates.

Amazon reported better-than-expected results for the last quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimates, driven by strong performance in its cloud computing and AI.

Ticker’s Ahron Young & Veronica Dudo discuss.

Tesla is slashing prices to stay competitive

Published

2 weeks ago

April 21, 2024

Reuters

Tesla cut the U.S. prices of its Model Y, Model X and Model S vehicles by $2,000 each, days after the first-quarter deliveries of the world’s most valuable automaker missed market expectations.

Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle (EV) maker lowered the prices for its Model Y base variant to $42,990, while the long-range and performance variants are now priced at $47,990 and $51,490, respectively, according to its website.

The basic version of the Model S now costs $72,990 and its plaid variant $87,990. The Model X base variant now costs $77,990 and its plaid variant is priced at $92,900.

Tesla North America also said in a post on X said it would end its referral program benefits in all markets after April 30.

Referral program allows buyers to get extra incentives through referrals from existing customers, a strategy long used by traditional automakers to boost sales.

Musk has postponed a planned trip to India where he was to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce plans to enter the South Asian market, Reuters reported on Saturday.

On Monday Reuters reported, citing an internal memo, that the EV maker was laying off more than 10% of its global workforce.

Earlier this month Reuters reported the EV maker had canceled a long-promised inexpensive car, expected to cost $25,000, that investors had been counting on to drive mass-market growth.

The EV maker reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years, as price cuts failed to stir demand.

Tesla is to report first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.