Un avión A310 MRTT de Airbus controla y guía de forma autónoma un enjambre de cinco drones

Video from the channel Infodefensa TV about Airbus A310, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 2:21. Language: Spanish. Video type: News.

A programme manager explains a test with an Airbus A310 MRTT tanker aircraft. Boom refuelling today demands a great deal of human effort: the operator works from a station with a joystick and several screens and must bring the boom close to the receiver with great care, in a highly stressful task.

The test showed that the movement, approach and boom refuelling can be done automatically, without human intervention. The part still under development is for the tanker to take control of the receiver aircraft, whether a drone or a fleet aircraft, and position it. Using a tablet, the operator chooses whether the drone remains on hold, in contact, or hands control back to the central station.

This is a technology demonstrator that, once validated, could move on to certification and be integrated as an aircraft capability.