FutureFlight
Reliable Robotics Issues Findings from U.S. Air Force Flight Automation Study
Work has focused on how the company's Remotely Operated Aircraft System could be used for large military aircraft, such as the KC-135 Stratotanker, in air-to-air refueling operations.
Reliable Robotics and the U.S. Air Force are assessing how autonomous flight technology could be used for large military aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force has tasked Reliable Robotics with assessing how its Remotely Operated Aircraft System could make operations of large fixed-wing military aircraft more efficient. (Image: Reliable Robotics)

Reliable Robotics this week published initial findings from its ongoing joint study with the U.S. Air Force into the potential for its technology to automate operations of large aircraft, such as the KC-135 Stratotanker, which is used for air-to-air refueling. The California-based system is working on military and civil applications for its Remotely Operated Aircraft System (ROAS), which is based on continuous engagement of the autopilot.

The study has been based on design and simulation exercises using specifications intended to be applicable to most of the Air Force's large fixed-wing aircraft. The preliminary results were derived from engineering analysis and a visual inspection of an unspecified aircraft, with the California-based company indicating that the KC-135 is "of particular interest."