The X-47B successfully conducted the first ever Autonomous Aerial Refeuling of an unmanned aircraft April 22, completing the final test objective under the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System demonstration program.
The X-47B connected to an Omega K-707 tanker aircraft and received over 4,000 pounds of fuel using the Navy's probe-and-drogue method.
During the test, the X-47B exchanged refueling messages with a government-designed Refueling Interface System (RIS) aboard the tanker. The aircraft autonomously maneuvered its fixed refueling probe into the tanker’s drogue, also known as the basket, the same way a Navy pilot would refuel a manned aircraft.
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