The US Army has signed a contract with re2 Robotics to develop a robotic arm for refueling AH-64 Apache attack helicopters in combat. The robot arm will autonomously bring the refueling gun to the filler neck of the tank and independently determine when the helicopter has received enough fuel.
Attack helicopters are usually not designed for long continuous flight. For example, the AH-64 Apache can spend less than three hours in the air. In order to refuel it quickly, the military has to deploy a refueling point. In a combat area, this is a risky task, so the military wants to entrust it to robots — at least partially.
The US army has been developing the AR3P (Autonomous & Robotic Remote Refueling Point) robotic refueling complex for several years. In 2017, the US Army Aviation and Missile Technology Research Center showed its prototype. It proved its performance on the Apache mock-up, but the military did not report on further tests involving a real helicopter and the real use of the complex.
On August 10, the American company re2 Robotics announced a contract with the army to create a robotic arm for refueling Apache in combat. This project is called R3EM (Remote Robotic Refueling for Extended Missions}. The military launched it in addition to the AR3P program.
The robot arm will autonomously insert the refueling gun into the filler neck of the tank, automatically determine when it is time to complete refueling, and disconnect the gun from the helicopter. Re2 plans to install it on a ground robot that will be built by Pratt Miller.
Re2 Robotics cooperates with the US military in other projects as well. Earlier we wrote about a robot pilot, which she is developing for the US Air Force. It will turn manned aircraft into unmanned ones without any alterations.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva