Continuing
the effort to prove whether it’s feasible for unmanned aerial vehicles to refuel in midair, the Air Force Research Lab and Boeing’s Phantom Works recently tests of the automated aerial refueling program. According to a Boeing release, the AAR system “autonomously guided” a Learjet serving as a UAV up to a KC-135R tanker and “successfully maneuvered it among seven air refueling positions behind the tanker.” There was a pilot on board to fly the Learjet to the rendezvous point, but after that it was all the AAR.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.