Aerial Refueling Tanker and Receiver Aerodynamic Interaction Modeling and Simulation

As the Navys fleet of Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) continue to grow so do the desired capabilities of these systems. Of specific interest is the extension of range and endurance through the use of autonomous aerial refueling. This presents a unique challenge to the control law development of the UAS as autonomous refueling can be susceptible to many external variables including atmospheric gusts and tanker air wakes thus requiring sophisticated sense-and-correct control algorithms. These methods hinge on the ability to properly characterize the receiver aircrafts response to both wakes and environmental gusts.As a step toward enhancing receiver aircraft characterization and control laws Corvid Innovation proposes a unique, innovative, and simple toolset for building aircraft aerodynamics models in the presence of leading aircraft wakes. Through a synergistic combination of low-fidelity aerodynamic tools, high-fidelity CFD aerodynamic predictions, and fast running simulation tools Corvid will demonstrate a successful approach that will provide resultant receiver aircraft loads from a spatially varying aerodynamic flow field.