C o ve r Th e m e
Flight Lieutenant Dunn who was part of Exercise Cope North 21 says “The KC-30A is usually one of the first jets to enter the airspace and one of the last to leave,”. “Fully integrated in the planning process, the tanker planner helps shape the mission profile by working out fuel requirements, tanker availability and any limitations, and then comes up with the airborne refuelling plan," FLTLT Dunn said. “All of our co-pilots cycled through the position – it was a big learning curve for them and a great opportunity for their professional development. “They’ve begun to understand how we integrate with partner forces, how a typical planning cycle works for a large force employment mission, and what great capabilities the KC-30A brings to the table.” “We also had two junior air refuelling operators who achieved their day fighter boom qualification and one aircrew member who achieved his B Category KC-30A captain categorisation.” “We'd expect to be airborne for approximately four hours, refuel a combination of US F-35A Lightning IIs, F/A-18 Hornets, F-16 Fighting Falcons and EA-18G Growlers, and offload around 45,000 litres of fuel. “We’d also expect to hold contingency fuel for any issues that the fighters may have during the sortie or on recovery to Andersen Air Force Base. “Once all fighters and other air assets are safely on their way home, we’ll recover as well, and when we’re back on the ground, our maintainers refuel the aircraft, conduct any maintenance required and have the tanker ready to launch for the next wave.” By the end of the exercise, callsign ‘Willowbank’ had flown a total of 17 missions and offloaded 318,000 litres of fuel to US fighter aircraft. Although pilots and boom operators undergo rigorous refuelling training, it nevertheless remains stressful. To that end, both Airbus and Boeing have worked on automatising the boom operation. Peter Thomas, senior lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire in England, and a specialist on air-to-air
refuelling of unmanned aerial vehicles, says that “if you want to automate the system you must outperform what a human can do, which is using his eyes to gage where the boom must go and couple up with the receiver.” In April 2020 Airbus successfully completed the world’s first fully automatic air-to-air refuelling operation with 120 dry fuelling contacts with a Portuguese Air Force F-16 fighter jet which needed no modifications at all to use the system. (A dry contact means they don’t actually transfer fuel.) The tech allows the boom operator to simply activate the system and then supervise while the computer takes control of the boom, maintaining the right angle and distance to fly it to within centimetres of the receiver aircraft. The boom’s telescope is then extended into the receiver, the fuel transferred, then automatically disconnected and the boom brought away. More recently history was made when the U.S. Navy conducted its first ever air to air refuel between a manned aircraft and an unmanned tanker on June 4 2021, with a Boeing-owned MQ-25 Stingray test vehicle performing its first mid-air tanking mission with a Navy F/A-18E-F Super Hornet. The test mission out of MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, proved the unmanned tanker could successfully use the Navy’s standard probe-anddrogue aerial refuelling method. During the initial part of the flight, the F/A-18 test pilot flew in close formation behind MQ-25 to ensure performance and stability prior to refuelling. The manoeuvre required as little as 20 feet
of separation between the two aircraft, both flying at operationally relevant speeds and altitudes. When the MQ-25 drogue was extended, the F/A-18 pilot moved in to “plug” with the unmanned aircraft and receive the scheduled fuel offload.
Future of AAR From remote vision systems to drones, aerial refuelling technology has made leaps in recent years. If perfected, it could have a lasting impact on the future of military aviation. From Vietnam through to the Falklands and Iraq, aerial refuelling has been used by air forces in conflict for well over half a century. Tankers continue to play an important role in serving bombers, fighter jets and, more recently, drones. According to market intelligence firm Stratview Research, the global aerial refuelling systems market could reach a value of $671.9m by 2024, owing to increasing demand and more funds being allocated to their development. Recent developments around the world suggest that going unmanned is a primary goal for new refuelling technology. Flying tankers in perfect sync with a receptacle aircraft at hundreds of miles of an hour – not to mention hooking up pipelines with highly combustible fuels – requires vast reserves of precision and patience. If perfected, unmanned or autonomous refuelling solutions could help take the pressure off pilots and human boom operators, as well as reducing risk to personnel involved.
US Navy, Boeing conduct first-ever aerial refuelling with unmanned tanker. US Navy.
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