N101-073 TITLE: Terminal Guidance for Autonomous Aerial Refueling

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Advanced Development Program Office NAVAIR, 4.12.7, Non-ACAT

RESTRICTION ON PERFORMANCE BY FOREIGN CITIZENS (i.e., those holding non-U.S. Passports): This topic is "ITAR Restricted." The information and materials provided pursuant to or resulting from this topic are restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120 - 130, which control the export of defense-related material and services, including the export of sensitive technical data. Foreign Citizens may perform work under an award resulting from this topic only if they hold the "Permanent Resident Card", or are designated as "Protected Individuals" as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). If a proposal for this topic contains participation by a foreign citizen who is not in one of the above two categories, the proposal will be rejected.

OBJECTIVE: Develop technologies to support the terminal guidance of unmanned aircraft during autonomous aerial refueling (AAR).

NOTE: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by DoD 5220.22-M, National Industrial Security Operating Manual.

DESCRIPTION: Tankers significantly extend the range and duration of combat sorties for current tactical Navy aircraft such as the F/A-18, and will play an important role for future unmanned aircraft. While differential GPS and other technologies are capable of guiding aircraft to a position proximate to the tanker, these technologies are not well-suited for terminal guidance of the aircraft probe into the tanker's drogue during autonomous aerial refueling (AAR). What is needed is a terminal guidance technology capable of providing accurate relative orientation measurement between the refueling probe on the aircraft and the drogue. In order to maintain stealth under normal flight, the technology must be deployed only during refueling, yet must not interfere with the functionality of the refueling system in any way.

PHASE I: Develop a detailed architectural design of a terminal guidance system that can be used during autonomous aerial refueling. Analyze the integration of necessary components. Model the expected performance and identify the methods to measure actual performance. Provide a baseline for the development of prototype hardware.

PHASE II: Demonstrate the technology with a prototype system in a laboratory setting. Measure the performance of the system and compare this performance to expected results. Address realistic factors such as relative motion between the probe and drogue and emulate these factors in experimental demonstrations.

PHASE III: Complete the development of the technology by performing full scale tests with aircraft components in a relevant environment. Transition the technology to the appropriate Navy programs for further development and acquisition.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The technology could be used for refueling ships at sea or recovering scientific buoys, practice torpedoes, and unmanned surface and underwater vehicle. Trucks and rail cars could be modified to aid in positioning these vehicles safely and reliably.

REFERENCES:
1. MIL-A-19736A, Military Specification for Aerial Refueling Systems

2. Autonomous Aerial Refueling For UAVs Using a Combined GPS-Machine Vision Guidance, AIAA Paper #2004-5350, 16 August 2004

KEYWORDS: Aerial refueling, guidance system, unmanned aircraft

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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