The Navy plans to perform an aerial refueling for the first time on its carrier-launched demonstrator drone aircraft, the X-47B, within the next few weeks, service officials said.
The refueling, to take place at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., will have the X-47B link up with an Omega air refueling tanker, Navy officials told Military.com. Omega is a contractor that works with the Defense Department.
Navy to Conduct First Aerial Refueling of X-47B Carrier Drone | Military.com
Autonomous Aerial Refueling Demonstration Requirement for UCAS-D FY14/15 - N00019-07-C-0055(AARFY14-15) (Archived) - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) intends to issue a sole source modification to contract N00019-07-C-0055 to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (NGSC), San Diego CA to continue previous related X-47B software development to complete its demonstration of U.S. Navy Probe/Drogue style Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR). The Navy will not demonstrate or evaluate the ability of the X-47B to carry a buddy store or transfer fuel to another receiving aircraft. Neither of these tasks is a contractual requirement.
The Navy has received additional funding to continue the unmanned aircraft technology maturation program using the X-47B through the end of FY15 capitalizing on the last 3 years of investment.
NAVAIR has a requirement to demonstrate unmanned system AAR; specifically tanker rendezvous, approach, station keeping, drogue engagement and fuel transfer. In order to accomplish these objectives, the Navy intends to leverage the Unmanned Combat Air System - Demonstrator (UCAS-D) technology maturation program. The Navy has previously performed flight test activities using a manned surrogate with X-47B hardware and software. Autonomous station keeping between the surrogate and the Omega tanker was achieved. This contract modification will allow demonstration of autonomous engagement flight testing during the 2QFY15.
Related/Background
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Navy autonomous aerial refueling tests underway | NAVAIR
CHIPS Articles: Taking Flight: X-47B and MQ-4C Triton Share the Spotlight
The Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) program continued to improve technology, participating in multiple test scenarios which were specifically designed to improve the software to benefit the future fleet of UCLASS systems. One such scenario was the autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) test held on Aug. 28 at Patuxent River’s Calspan facility.
According to NAVAIR, the AAR program uses similar digital messaging and navigation processes that have been demonstrated by the UCAS-D team aboard the aircraft carrier. The AAR test was designed to assess the functionality of final X-47B AAR systems and navigation performance, as well as to test the government tanker refueling interface systems.
Prior to the test, X-47B’s navigation, command and control, and vision processor hardware and software were installed on a Calspan Learjet aircraft while a government-developed refueling interface system and tanker operator station were installed on an Omega 707 tanker aircraft.
The testing consisted of initial ground and taxi tests, followed by a series of flights using the surrogate aircraft equipped to fly autonomously behind an Omega K-707 Tanker. The testing also featured end-to-end AAR concept of operations with a complete autonomous rendezvous, approach, plug, and safe separation utilizing X-47B software and hardware installed in the Lear surrogate aircraft. Data gleaned from the demonstration will be used to assess system performance for multiple AAR refueling technologies, validate the AAR procedures and concepts, and support further development of future unmanned systems.
X-47B Unmanned Aerial Refueling Demo Cut | AWIN content from Aviation Week
Plans to demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling of the Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat aircraft are a casualty of cuts in the U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2014 budget.
Previous plans called for the X-47B naval unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) to conduct autonomous Navy-style probe-and-drogue and Air Force-style boom-and-receptacle refueling tests in 2014.
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