Unmanned Aerial Systems Mid-Air Rearming: a 21st Century "Question Mark"
Abstract
In 1929 the Army Air Corps' "Question Mark" project completed its first successful airborne refueling operation, 26 years after the Wright brother's infamous flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In contrast, the world has gone 105 years without a means to rearm while airborne since aircraft were first used to drop explosives in 1911. Now is the time to develop mid-air rearming. In today's environment, an armed UAS is relegated to perform ISR duties after its munitions have been expended. However, if the UAS is mid-air rearmable then it can maintain its armed presence and diminish the need to task additional aircraft, making this capability a force multiplier with impacts at multiple levels of war. At the strategic level, it may expand the number of foreign nations that allow US UASs to operate from their borders. At the operational level it provides an effective means to maximize combat power. At the tactical level because it will enable weeks of persistent armed-coverage and on-call fires to ground troops. Mid-air rearming's unique ability to affect all three levels of war proves that the US should invest its time, money and resources into developing this capability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 25, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1178989
Entities
People
- Michael L Primiano
Organizations
- Marine Corps University