Cubic Corporation today announced its Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) business division has been awarded a contract by The Boeing Company to supply its Wideband Satellite Communications (SATCOM) modem system and Line-of-Sight (LOS) Common Data Link (CDL) system for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program.

"Our resilient, wideband communication solution will enable the MQ-25 to conduct its missions safely and securely," said Mike Twyman, president of Cubic Mission Solutions. "We are thrilled to continue our support of Boeing's innovative design for this critical platform."

The MQ-25 is the U.S. Navy's first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is designed to provide a much-needed refueling capability. The contract supports Boeing's engineering and manufacturing development program to provide four MQ-25 aircraft to the U.S. Navy for initial operational capability by 2024.

"The MQ-25 program is vital because it will help the U.S. Navy extend the range of the carrier air wing, and Boeing and our industry team is all-in on delivering this capability," said Dave Bujold, Boeing's MQ-25 program director. "The work we're doing is also foundational for the future of Boeing – where we're building autonomous systems from seabed to space."

This latest contract will help support more than 30 jobs for Cubic, which is a data link supplier to a range of U.S. Navy defense programs.