Breakaway: A Look at the Integration of Aerial Refueling and Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Future Operations

Abstract : Unmanned aircraft are rapidly becoming the platform of choice for military and governmental leaders. In recent years, the United States Government has expressed great interest in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for military and other governmental agencies. With an almost insatiable appetite to gain information immediately, commanders want a persistent, responsive platform at their beck and call. However, the demand greatly outnumbers the availability of platforms, so leaders are looking at the possibility of air refueling unmanned platforms that will prolong their loiter time. Because of the senior leader pressure to get a persistent presence of unmanned aircraft through air refueling, they might have waived the "sanity check" for this, or overlooked a better way to achieve the goal. The future force of 2025 will undoubtedly include many unmanned aircraft and manned aircraft. This thesis investigates how aerial refueling and unmanned aircraft will interact in the future. The author concludes that tanker aircraft modified with multiple drogue refueling points, flying in an anchor orbit, or using track refueling would best augment future unmanned aircraft operations.