Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

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TheGreenGoblin
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Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#1 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:37 am



Noted in the Daily Fail...
US Navy makes history as unmanned tanker drone refuels a fighter jet for the first time
The Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet connected to the Boeing-owned MQ-25 Stingray drone mid-air Friday
The drone then transfered 325 pounds of fuel to the fighter jet near MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois
Footage shows the moment the Super Hornet connected to the Stingray's hose and received the jet fuel
The two aircrafts <<Aagh!>> came as close as 20 feet to each other during the in-air refueling
The use of the unmanned drone to refuel fighter jets will free up Navy personnel otherwise tasked with refueling aircrafts <<another Aagh!>> for other operations
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -time.html
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#2 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:43 am



Soon the song will be, "where have all the pilots gone?"

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#3 Post by ian16th » Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:44 am

Would have been a challenge doing this with a boom.
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#4 Post by Boac » Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:11 am

Navy have a brain!

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#5 Post by Ex-Ascot » Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:39 am

Shirley a drone needs pilots on the ground so they are not saving pilots. And, Ian they could operate a boom. God help the fighters trying to get a probe into a basket.
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#6 Post by Boac » Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:46 am

And, Ian they could operate a boom.
A feat of software beyond current abilities, I think? Plus the receivers are not so equipped!

The Lightning force asked for 'hair' to be stuck around the basket, but MOD declined. We still managed.

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#7 Post by ian16th » Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:51 am

We ferried Javelins and Lightnings ok, after a little training.
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#8 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:00 pm

Ex-Ascot wrote:
Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:39 am
Shirley a drone needs pilots on the ground so they are not saving pilots. And, Ian they could operate a boom. God help the fighters trying to get a probe into a basket.
There are plenty of autonomous drones and if capsules can dock autonomously in space, the technology to allow the autonomous rendezvous and the delivery of fuel exists as well. One ground based "pilot" could probably monitor a number of autonomous flights so the number of flying pilots is being whittled down all the time.
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#9 Post by Boac » Tue Jun 08, 2021 7:04 pm

Exactly - putting a tanker into a holding refuelling pattern is not exactly time consuming.

I want to see a drone refuel from a drone B-)

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#10 Post by CharlieOneSix » Tue Jun 08, 2021 7:32 pm

Duncan Sandys would be happy with this development!
The helicopter pilots' mantra: If it hasn't gone wrong then it's just about to...
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#11 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Tue Jun 08, 2021 8:55 pm

Boac wrote:
Tue Jun 08, 2021 7:04 pm
Exactly - putting a tanker into a holding refuelling pattern is not exactly time consuming.

I want to see a drone refuel from a drone B-)
An interesting article on the state of the art in UAV's

https://www.6gworld.com/exclusives/full ... e-horizon/

And the news that American Robotics has been cleared by the FAA with respect to flying autonomous drones without a back up pilot/operator on the ground.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/ ... rs-On-Site
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#12 Post by Boac » Tue Jun 08, 2021 8:59 pm

As PN would say - an automatic drain?

Edit for your edit: Don't tell O'Leary.

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#13 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:04 pm

Boac wrote:
Tue Jun 08, 2021 8:59 pm
As PN would say - an automatic drain?
;)))

The BAE Systems venture into this technology is very interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAE_Systems_Taranis
The prototype has a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of about 8,000 kg (18,000 lb), and is of a similar size to the BAE Hawk training jet. It has two internal weapons bays, and is intended to incorporate "full autonomy", allowing it to operate without human control for a large part of its mission
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#14 Post by G-CPTN » Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:24 pm

Does a fully autonomous aircraft require a mission statement with intended destinations? - or does it choose its own missions?

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#15 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:38 pm

G-CPTN wrote:
Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:24 pm
Does a fully autonomous aircraft require a mission statement with intended destinations? - or does it choose its own missions?
We are entering the realm of The Terminator here and soon the technology will be such that we will have to answer these moral or philosophical questions before the UAV's answer them for us!
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#16 Post by Boac » Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:57 am

I saw a news item recently about 2 autonomous drone attacks. https://www.popularmechanics.com/milita ... ons-report

Cannot vouch for its accuracy! Just beware your Amazon drone delivery, in case. :))

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#17 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:43 am

Boac wrote:
Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:57 am
I saw a news item recently about 2 autonomous drone attacks. https://www.popularmechanics.com/milita ... ons-report

Cannot vouch for its accuracy! Just beware your Amazon drone delivery, in case. :))
I guess the dynamics of the issue of totally autonomous drones, with all the non-technological facets such as moral and philosophical issues, started with fire and forget munitions, as noted in the cases of the sometimes, errant or misguided missiles, that went onto to wreak havoc on friendly parties or even their originators.
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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#18 Post by PHXPhlyer » Wed Jun 09, 2021 2:38 pm

Something new on my Christmas list for Santa. :ymdevil:

PP

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#19 Post by llondel » Wed Jun 09, 2021 3:50 pm

TheGreenGoblin wrote:
Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:43 am
I guess the dynamics of the issue of totally autonomous drones, with all the non-technological facets such as moral and philosophical issues, started with fire and forget munitions, as noted in the cases of the sometimes, errant or misguided missiles, that went onto to wreak havoc on friendly parties or even their originators.
Torpedoes have done that even before there was nominal guidance other than point it in the direction you want it to go and set it off. I believe HMS Trinidad torpedoed itself in WW2 and was ultimately scuttled.

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Re: Cometh the hour, cometh the tanker.

#20 Post by Pontius Navigator » Wed Jun 09, 2021 4:35 pm

Not very friendly fire.

I once watched a lightweight torpedo with a run time of 6 minutes attempt to attack its target, a ship with an acoustic source, 5 times over 25 minutes.

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