Aviation View Jan 2023

9 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 AIRBUS UPNEXT AUTONOMOUS AERIAL REFUELING TEST PLANNED FOR MID-2023 MADRID—Airbus is to begin exploring more autonomous aerial refueling capability through its UpNext technology accelerator. Flight testing in the Auto’Mate project, UpNext’s first defense research project, will see a DT- 25 target drone flying in close formation with Airbus’ A310 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) demonstrator aircraft during mid-2023. The aim is to move toward what Airbus calls Autonomous Assets Air-to-Air Refueling (A4R), building on the company’s experience in developing an Automatic Air-to-Air Refueling (A3R) system for its A330 MRTT, which was certified for daylight operation during the summer. The A3R system was developed in collaboration with the Singaporean Air Force. “A4R is about gaining more autonomy in order to have more operational safety, greater reliability and more efficiency in aerial refueling,” Manuel Barriopedro, the head of Airbus’ autonomous air-to-air refueling demonstrator project, told journalists here Dec. 12. The trials will explore uncrewed air system control from the A310 using different communications technologies, as well as artificial intelligence for control and high- precision satellite navigation for positioning. There are no plans to refuel the drones from the tanker. “This is about shaping the future of air-to-air refueling and cooperative control algorithms and help us consider future defense operations,” Barriopedro said. Among the advantages of A4R could be to reduce the size of the tanker crew, speed up the pace of refueling and enable OPENING L INES