"The MQ-25 test asset, known as T1, completed the autonomous two-hour flight under the direction of Boeing test pilots operating from a ground control station at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., where the test program is based", the company said in a press release on Thursday.
The company added that the unmanned aircraft completed an autonomous taxi and takeoff and then flew a pre-determined route to demonstrate basic flight capability and communication with the ground control station.
The test flight took place two years before the first MQ-25 is due to join the Navy's aircraft fleet.
In August 2018, the US Navy awarded Boeing with an $805 million contract for the construction of four MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based unmanned aircraft in efforts to provide the navy with refuelling capacity. The autonomous aircraft is also designed to seamlessly integrate with a carrier's catapult and launch recovery systems.