Airborne Unmanned Refueling Multi-aperture Optical Navigation System

To address the Air Force need for a GPS-denied relative navigation (RelNav) technology to be used for refueling remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to continue development of the new Airborne Unmanned Refueling Multi-aperture Optical Navigation (AURUM-ON) system proven feasible in Phase I. The proposed navigation system is based on the integration of novel compound-eye insect optics and proven avionic components to achieve a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) mature system design. The innovation in a wide field of view, multi-aperture configuration with customized beacons, high bandwidth, and custom embedded processing will enable the AURUM-ON system to detect, track, and guide RPA during air-to-air refueling. As demonstrated in Phase I, AURUM-ON offers accuracy, availability, continuity, and wide-angle tracking without gimbals in a high-integrity solution, directly addressing the Air Force’s air platform specifications. In Phase II, POC plans to build an AURUM-ON prototype for laboratory testing and hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Testing will be performed to evaluate required navigation performance metrics. We will work with the Air Force and aircraft platform prime integrators to define certification impacts for the AURUM-ON technology and develop a plan for surrogate flight testing to be conducted in Phase III.