Flight International - 04

Defence Technology
C-17 fleet plays a key role in
providing logistics resupply
USAF eyes autonomous airlifters
Service funds Reliable Robotics to explore feasibility of
operating its transport aircraft in uncrewed applications
US Air Force
Ryan Finnerty Tampa
Reliable Robotics has been
contracted by the US Air
Force (USAF) to study the
feasibility of a fully autonomous
cargo aircraft capability.
“This contract furthers our focus
on automation of large, multiengine
jet aircraft,” says David
O’Brien, the company’s senior
vice-president of government solutions.
“Our vision is to provide remote
piloting capability to a wide
variety of aircraft,” he adds.
Mountain View, California-based
Reliable Robotics says it will examine
the potential for uncrewed,
multi-engined transport jets, including
full and partial automation
features for cargo operations.
The company is developing a system
“that enables continuous autopilot
engagement through all phases
of flight, including taxi, [and]
take-off and landing, with a remote
pilot supervising operations”.
It is pursuing certification of the
technology – which it describes as
an “advanced navigation and auto-flight
system” – with the US Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA).
The USAF says the “novel approach”
offered by Reliable Robotics
would allow legacy aircraft to be
equipped with automation kits – a
capability that would help address
gaps in the US Department of Defense’s
global logistics enterprise.
“This is of great value to the
US government,” the USAF says.
“It will help solve the demand of
short- to medium-range point-topoint
logistics without the need to
manufacture new aircraft, which
will ensure critical logistics are
available at speed and scale to all
regions of the country.”
In addition to constraints on new
aircraft development, the requirement
for fully-rested pilots and
crew is a potentially limiting factor
for airborne logistics during
crises. Additionally, crewed aircraft
can take fewer risks in contested
airspace during conflict.
With US defence officials increasingly
focused on preparing
for possible hostilities with China
in the Western Pacific region, the
USAF is pushing its aircraft – and
crews – to new limits.
Wide dispersal
In January, the USAF conducted the
largest-ever launch of Boeing C-17s
from a single location. Twenty-four
of the strategic transports took off
from Charleston, South Carolina
and dispersed across the region to
drop paratroopers, refuel Boeing
AH-64 Apache attack helicopters
on the ground and distribute heavy
weapons and communication systems
at multiple landing sites.
The USAF says the exercise
demonstrated its ability to “rapidly
generate and project overwhelming
air power”. However, that ability
currently almost entirely depends
on human pilots in the cockpit and
planning staff on the ground.
And one of the service’s Boeing
KC-46A tankers completed a record-setting
36h endurance flight
last November, travelling 14,000nm
(25,928km) on a nonstop, round
trip from the northeast USA to the
central Pacific island of Guam.
While the USAF may be thinking
about reducing its need for pilots,
Reliable Robotics says its automation
systems can also reduce crew
workload in the air.
“Higher-precision navigation, sophisticated
flight planning capabilities
and more-robust flight controls
better manage aircraft and environmental
conditions and improve
safety with or without onboard
crew,” says the company, which
is also marketing its autonomous
technologies to civilian operators.
“Once certified [by the FAA],
Reliable’s system will reduce the
occurrence of common causes of
fatal aviation accidents, such as
controlled flight into terrain and
loss of control,” it says.
The new study is the latest in a series
of related efforts by the US military,
which is pursuing automation
across its full portfolio of aircraft.
The US Air Force Research Laboratory,
Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency and Lockheed
Martin are currently flight-testing
an X-62A – a modified Lockheed
F-16D – and assessing its control by
artificial intelligence (AI) “agents”.
Last December, this work involved
a dozen flights conducted
from Edwards AFB, California,
during which the jet autonomously
demonstrated “advanced fighter
techniques” including “one- onone
beyond-visual-range engagements
against a simulated adversary,
and within-visual-range
manoeuvring against constructive
AI ‘red-team’ agents”.
The USAF also is hosting a public
competition to develop an AI tool to
assist with planning aerial logistics. ◗
42 Flight International April 2023