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Review
. 2023 Jan 15;23(2):995.
doi: 10.3390/s23020995.

Review of Sensor Technology to Support Automated Air-to-Air Refueling of a Probe Configured Uncrewed Aircraft

Jonathon Parry  1 , Sarah Hubbard  2
Affiliations
Review

Review of Sensor Technology to Support Automated Air-to-Air Refueling of a Probe Configured Uncrewed Aircraft

Jonathon Parry et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

As technologies advance and applications for uncrewed aircraft increase, the capability to conduct automated air-to-air refueling becomes increasingly important. This paper provides a review of required sensors to enable automated air-to-air refueling for an uncrewed aircraft, as well as a review of published research on the topic. Automated air-to-air refueling of uncrewed aircraft eliminates the need for ground infrastructure for intermediate refueling, as well as the need for on-site personnel. Automated air-to-air refueling potentially supports civilian applications such as weather monitoring, surveillance for wildfires, search and rescue, and emergency response, especially when airfields are not available due to natural disasters. For military applications, to enable the Air Wing of the Future to strike at the ranges required for the mission, both crewed and uncrewed aircraft must be capable of air-to-air refueling. To cover the sensors required to complete automated air-to-air refueling, a brief history of air-to-air refueling is presented, followed by a concept of employment for uncrewed aircraft refueling, and finally, a review of the sensors required to complete the different phases of automated air-to-air refueling. To complete uncrewed aircraft refueling, the uncrewed receiver aircraft must have the sensors required to establish communication, determine relative position, decrease separation to astern position, transition to computer vision, position keep during refueling, and separate from the tanker aircraft upon completion of refueling. This paper provides a review of the twelve sensors that would enable the uncrewed aircraft to complete the seven tasks required for automated air-to-air refueling.

Keywords: A3R; AAR; RPA; UA; UAS; UAV; automated air-to-air refueling; autonomous aerial refueling; computer vision.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example of probe and drogue refueling.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Example of boom-equipped refueling.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Visual depiction of left echelon formation (tanker at top and two receiving aircraft at bottom).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Astern position aft of a centerline drogue (tanker at top left; receiving aircraft at top right).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Fuel transfer zone example [18].
Figure 6
Figure 6
United States Naval Academy probe-and-drogue test equipment.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Visual depiction of right echelon formation (tanker at left; refueled aircraft at top right).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Visual depiction of the A3R tasks by phase.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Process map of the A3R tasks.
Figure 10
Figure 10
An example of an ODD for a UA tasked with A3R.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Visual depiction of data links required between multiple UAs and GCSs/AVOs.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Transition of sensors from Astern to FTZ.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Sensors required for safe separation after refueling.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Review of the sensor requirements by phase of flight.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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