Spain leads Phase 2 of EU drone refuelling automation project
Written by AI from 1 report listed below. Not checked by a person before publication. How we use AI
Phase 2 of the European drone refuelling automation project is led by Spain with support from Germany and a new partner, Belgium, and has an estimated budget of 8 million euros; Phase 1 of the project was launched in 2022 with a budget of 4 million euros.
Phase 1 trials used an Airbus A330 MRTT tanker, a German Tornado and a Spanish F/A‑18, developing camera‑based tracking of the drogue and receiver and concepts to stabilise the drogue in flight; Phase 2 will focus on automating hose‑and‑drogue refuelling for autonomous operations between unmanned aircraft and involves a consortium that includes Airbus Defence and Space and GMV (Spain), Airbus Defence and Space, DLR and AES Technology (Germany), and ScioTeq and the Instituto von Karman (Belgium), with no announced completion or operational capability date.