The European Defence Agency has launched the second phase of a European programme to automate hose-and-drogue air-to-air refuelling for uncrewed aircraft. Led by Spain with Germany and Belgium, the project is estimated at €8 million and will use an Airbus A330 MRTT tanker and an experimental aircraft from the German Aerospace Center for later ground and flight testing.
The programme builds on earlier trials in which a German Tornado and Spanish F-18 demonstrated automated refuelling from an A330 MRTT. The new phase shifts the focus to uncrewed receivers and the coordination of multiple aircraft supplied by a single tanker.
Work will begin with simulations of multi-aircraft refuelling, followed by laboratory tests using robotic arms to reproduce the relative movements involved in making a connection. Ground and flight trials are planned thereafter. The consortium is developing camera-based drogue tracking, stabilisation techniques and relative-navigation systems that allow aircraft to manoeuvre in relation to one another rather than relying solely on external references such as GPS.
Partners include Airbus Defence and Space, GMV, DLR, AES Technology, ScioTeq and the Von Karman Institute. Autonomous hose-and-drogue refuelling presents particular challenges because the receiving aircraft must manage wake turbulence, drogue movement and the final connection without a pilot. A successful system would allow uncrewed aircraft to remain airborne longer and reduce the need for return-to-base refuelling, while supporting future European and NATO operations involving larger fleets of autonomous systems.