NAVAL AIRCRAFT REFUELING ALTERNATIVES

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PHASE I EFFORT IS TO PRESENT TO THE NAVY DETAILED CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSES OF ALTERNATIVE IN-FLIGHT REFUELING CONCEPTS. THESE RESULTS WILL FACILITATE THE DETERMINATION BY THE NAVY OF WHICH CONCEPTS WARRANT FURTHER INVESTIGATION OR DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS THAT WILL BE ANSWERED IN THE ANALYSES INCLUDE: (1) IS THE COMPLETE SYSTEM TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE? (2) IS THE SYSTEM OPERATIONALLY FEASIBLE? (3) IS THE SYSTEM FEASIBLE FROM A COST EFFECTIVENESS POINT OF VIEW? RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE MADE ON WHETHER ONE OR MORE CONCEPTS SHOULD BE PURSUED. FOR THE CONCEPT SHOWING THE MOST PROMISE, AN OUTLINE WILL BE PROVIDED GIVING A CONCEPT DEMONSTRATION TEST PROTOCOL. THE STUDY AND ANALYSIS EFFORT WILL CONSIST OF FIVE TASKS. THESE TASKS ARE DATA RESEARCH, CONFIG URATION CONCEPTS ANALYSIS, OPERATIONAL APPLICATION ANALYSIS, CONCEPTS DEMONSTRATION PLANNING AND THE FINAL REPORT.