Air-to-air refueling is in itself a delicate exercise… which is even more so when the pilot of the fighter-bomber to be refueled has accumulated fatigue and nervous tension during a long mission. Hence Airbus’ ambition to automate this procedure, via the A3R project [pour Automatic Air-to-Air Refueling].
The first tests of this automated in-flight refueling system were carried out in 2017, with an A-310 MRTT and the assistance of the Portuguese Air Force. Thus, 120 dry contacts were made as part of this campaign. Which was already a world first.
The aircraft to be fueled does not need to be modified with such a system. “Innovative passive techniques such as image processing are used to determine the position of the receiver’s refueling receptacle and when the automated system is activated, a fully automated flight control system steers the boom [la perche, ndlr] towards the receptacle” of the receiver, had indeed explained Airbus at the time.
Then, a year later, new tests – without transfer of fuel – involving an A-310 MRTT equipped with the A3R system and a KC-30A of the Royal Australian Air Force [RAAF] were equally conclusive.
Then, in 2020, Airbus announced that it had successfully completed the “first-ever fully automatic aerial refueling operation” with a Portuguese F-16. This prompted it to continue its work within the framework of the A-330 SMART MRTT program, with the support of the Singaporean Ministry of Defence, which notably provided the European industrialist with F-16D fighter-bombers.
During a new test campaign, 88 dry and wet contacts as well as transfers of 30 tons of fuel were carried out in automatic mode. The data collected made it possible to complete the development of the A3R system. All that remained was to obtain certification for an A330 MRTT equipped with such a device. What has just been done.
Airbus #A330MRTT becomes the world’s first tanker certified for #A3R automatic air-to-air refuelling operations after a successful campaign in collaboration with the Republic of Singapore Air Force @TheRSAF.
Learn more: https://t.co/DAAK8IVWTR #FIA2022 #SmartMRTT pic.twitter.com/CMvlZb7UI8— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) July 19, 2022
“The A330 MRTT has become the world’s first tanker aircraft to be certified for daylight automatic aerial refueling operations following a successful campaign in conjunction with the Republic of Singapore Air Force. [RSAF] “, Airbus announced on July 19. « Certified by the Spanish National Institute of Aerospace Technology [INTA]this capacity is part of the new SMART MRTT”, underlined the industrialist.
“The A330 MRTT continues to increase its technological advantage with superior in-flight refueling capabilities,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, head of military air systems at Airbus Defense and Space. “Automation improves the safety, reproducibility and resilience of operations which are now increasingly time-consuming for air-to-air refueling, it reduces the workload of the boom operator who must remain focused for a long period of time” , he commented.
However, Airbus wants to go even further, the A3R capability being only a first step towards fully autonomous in-flight refueling. Thus, the industrialist launched the A4R projects [Autonomous Assets Air-to-Air Refuelling]AF2 [Autonomous Formation Flight] and Auto’Mate, the latter to focus on “automating the tasks of the receiver aircraft”. Clearly, such technologies are likely to pave the way for in-flight refueling of drones.
“These technological bricks will be tested in flight during 2023 with a final end-to-end demonstration scheduled for mid-2024”, announced Airbus, specifying that these tests will be carried out with an A310 MRTT and DT-25 target drones as receiver aircraft. .