Air Force
Research Lab researchers are developing a robot to refuel the F-35 stealth fighter that they hope will be ready for demonstrational testing early in 2010. The automated aircraft ground refueling system, as it is called, would allow maintenance personnel to refuel the aircraft quickly and efficiently. It would also be a safer option for airmen, since it would reduce the number of personnel needed near the aircraft during “hot-pit refuelings” when the aircraft’s engine is still running. The AAGR concept involves a robot tethered to a fuel hydrant by a multi-jointed, moving pipeline that follows behind the robot and supplies it with fuel. The robot’s guidance system would direct it to the aircraft’s fuel door for the coupling of its nozzle with the aircraft’s fuel adapter and the passing of the fuel. A human operator would initiate the robotic system with the push of a button from a console several hundred feet away. The console would allow an airman to monitor the simultaneous activities of one or more refueling robots and quickly abort a refueling should a problem arise. AFRL researchers have already shown in mock refuelings in the laboratory “that an autonomous robot is a feasible alternative to manual refueling,” said Walt Waltz, leader of AFRL’s Robotic Group. (AFRL report by Mindy Cooper)
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.