---
title: "Who Do You Think Will Win The Navy’s MQ-25 Tanker Drone Competition Tomorrow?"
description: "The contract award is happening tomorrow and the winner could potentially usher in a critical and exciting new era in naval aviation."
date: "2018-08-29"
modified: "2018-08-30"
authors:
  - name: "Tyler Rogoway"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway"
url: "https://www.twz.com/23255/who-do-you-think-will-win-the-mq-25-tanker-drone-competition-tomorrow"
categories:
  - "Air"
  - "Drones"
  - "MQ-25"
  - "Navies"
  - "News & Features"
  - "Procurement"
  - "Sea"
  - "U.S. Navy"
  - "Unmanned"
tags:
  - "Boeing"
  - "carrier"
  - "Competition"
  - "contract award"
  - "General Atomics"
  - "Lockheed Martin"
  - "MQ-25"
  - "NAVAIR"
  - "refueling"
  - "Stingray"
  - "Tanker"
  - "Unmanned"
---

# Who Do You Think Will Win The Navy’s MQ-25 Tanker Drone Competition Tomorrow?

![](<https://www.twz.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-twz/content/2018/08/d111fff.jpg>)
*www.twz.com*

The Navy's MQ-25 carrier-based tanker drone tender has been one of the stories [we have followed closest](<https://www.twz.com/?s=MQ-25>) over the last couple of years and tomorrow the opportunity to produce four pre-production aircraft and possibly usher in an era of [advanced unmanned aircraft operations](<https://www.twz.com/3889/the-alarming-case-of-the-usafs-mysteriously-missing-unmanned-combat-air-vehicles>) aboard American aircraft carriers will be finally awarded.

[Lockheed Martin](<https://www.twz.com/20050/lockheed-is-already-pushing-a-stealthy-version-of-its-mq-25-stingray-tanker-drone>), [General Atomics](<https://www.twz.com/21226/general-atomics-shows-off-engine-that-will-power-its-proposed-mq-25-drone-tanker>), and [Boeing](<https://www.twz.com/19985/heres-our-first-good-look-at-the-crazy-air-inlet-design-on-boeings-mq-25-tanker-drone>) have all put forward disparate and intriguing concepts in various states of maturity, with each having advantages and disadvantages. So who will be announced the winner tomorrow afternoon?

![message-editor%2F1535592972248-aaad11.jpg](<https://www.twz.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1535592972248-aaad11.jpg>)
*Boeing's MQ-25 design., *Boeing**

I made my prediction on Twitter today, and it could very well turn out wrong, but if I had to guess the winner regardless of my personal choice, this is what I posited:

https://twitter.com/_/status/1034915943237836800

https://twitter.com/_/status/1034921100470173696

Here is a photo of those tweets for our mobile users:

![message-editor%2F1535595013594-jjf12.jpg](<https://www.twz.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1535595013594-jjf12.jpg>)
**twitter screencap**

We wish each team the very best and regardless of who ends up winning, just getting *any* semi-autonomous, fixed-wing, unmanned aircraft operating from America's supercarriers will be a big win for the country.

So who is your pick and why? Let us know in the comments section below!

***UPDATE: 2:26pm PDT—***

Boeing has won the competition! [See our post here.](<https://www.twz.com/23273/boeing-is-the-winner-of-the-navys-mq-25-stingray-tanker-drone-competition>)

![message-editor%2F1535593001522-adad11cc.jpg](<https://www.twz.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1535593001522-adad11cc.jpg>)
*General Atomics MQ-25 design., *General Atomics**

*Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com*

## Author
Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/Aviation_Intel>)