During the tests carried out in Center for Air Vehicle Experimentation and Atmospheric Research (Cedea)placed in Arenosillo (Huelva), tanker plane Airbus A310 MRTT managed for the first time to autonomously control and control the flight of a swarm of five drones, three real and two virtual.
These tests are part of the project s DNA Spanish, coordinates Airbus Defense and Space and Airbus Nextthe technology incubator of the aviation giant, which has been present in Spain since the beginning of 2022. The goal of the initiative is to verify, in a demonstration device called Auto’Mate, whether the new guidance and control technologies designed by the engineers are sufficiently advanced to progress towards the full automation of the in-flight refueling maneuver .
The company, it should be recalled, has already managed to automate part of the operation related to the deployment and handling of the boom from the tanker (A3R), in cooperation with Singapore Air Force. The technology being tested in this week’s tests will also allow taking control of the receiving aircraft, in this case a drone, during maneuver and autonomous formation flight (A4R) of various unmanned systems. In the future, the goal is to extend its use to other projects such as Future Combat Air System (FCAS)where the fighter will operate and communicate in flight with various remote operators.
In testing, Airbus used a A310 MRTT as a test bed that started from the company’s factory in Getafe (Madrid) and drones DT-25, who went into action from the El Arenosillo facility. On the ground, Airbus engineers monitored the tests in real time from control centers at INTA and Getafe.
The flight essentially tested two technologies. First, a system to place the drone in the most suitable place for resupply, as well as a data connection. In this case, artificial intelligence algorithms determine the optimal position for contact after analyzing all information from a series of cameras in the demonstrator and tanker, Lidar and differential GPS. And second, formation flight and anti-collision technology that guarantees a safe distance between drones at all times.
Now the next step is a detailed analysis of the test results and the subsequent proposal of a schedule for the certification of this control and guidance and flight training technology that could be integrated in the future. MRT around 2030, according to the company’s current plans.
Tests, in detail
First, Airbus launched a single drone from a pneumatic system, a kind of launch catapult. First, all control of the device was carried out by the team on the ground, and after reaching the test area above the Gulf of Cadiz, the on-board computer A310 MRTT took over the reins of the unmanned system, without the intervention of a pilot or refueling operator. With this first drone, engineers tested positioning and guidance algorithms.
“What’s really new is that a MRT Take control and guidance of the aircraft through direct interaction with “flight control”. “This is the first time we’ve done this,” he explained. Isaac Perez, Airbus Upnext delegate in Spain. Security is also guaranteed. “Communication between MRT and the drone has a unique identification, if it breaks, we would understand that someone wants to hack the drone and we could safely return the drone to the control station,” he noted.
In the second phase, the company simulated the launch of two virtual drones that interacted with a real drone that was already in the air to test the anti-collision algorithms. The concept is simple. “Each drone has a kind of sphere around it that, when it interacts with another drone’s sphere, generates a force that never collides,” Pérez explained.
Finally, after about an hour of flight, the drone that was in the air landed after a slow descent with a parachute, and then the Airbus team in El Arenosillo launched three real drones, to which we must add two virtual ones. At this stage, engineers tested the formation flight of the swarm, how the in-flight refueling will take place, as well as the anti-collision algorithms, already with real drones. Finally, with only one real drone in the air, the company analyzed how close the drone could get to the tanker while maintaining all safety precautions.
The ultimate goal of this technology is to make in-flight refueling operations safer and more efficient and to introduce the MRT new ability: refueling drones in flight. Airbus also emphasizes that it will improve performance and minimize the effects of adverse weather conditions.