Airborne Weapon Re- Arming

Background

• Due to the extremely high cost of fighter aircraft, there is a constant demand for improved operational versatility and efficiency
• Implementation of aerial refueling and data link systems (provides real time target information) delaying the necessity of fighter aircraft’s terminating the mission
• Releasing the entire ordnance requires the jet’s landing in order to re-arm for the following mission
• Time cycle of approaching a distant fighting zone (either ways), requires that the aircraft’s ordnance reconfiguration, is the "bottleneck" in the field of operating massive air power

&l t;/P>

Concept
Remove bottleneck by re-arming aircraft in the air, in a safe area, close to the fighting zone using the Airborne Re-Arming System (ABRA).

Technical Overview

• Designed for efficient aerial delivery of bombs from a cargo aircraft to attack aircraft (fighter jet or UCAV)
• The cargo and combat aircraft will not require modification

Cargo Aircraft

• Internal design allows for large quantities and efficient weapon storage
• Utilizing an aft door remote driven BOOM, with a aerodynamic lift surfaces, producing it’s own lift, carries the ordnance while reducing the momentum on the tanker
• Close circuit TV allow day or night operation
• Load weapons on the fighter

Cargo aircraft internal storage

Attack Aircraft

• Equipped with "smart pylons", which allow connecting and interface with the cargo Aircraft robotic arm boom system
• Enable the installation and activation of the weapon on pneumatic multi-action ejection mechanism

Performance and Technical Benefits
Based on the concept and technology, Professor Asher Tishler, from the Faculty of Management at the Tel Aviv University, conducted an analysis of the potential combined operational, logistical and economical contribution of airborne rearming on 3 – 9 hours bombing missions at ranges of 250 to 1,000 nautical miles from the operating base. For UCAVs, 12 – 30 hour mission durations were analyzed. The analysis demonstrated a dramatic increase in the number of bombs dropped for a given mission duration:

• Increase of well over 100% more bombs for close-by target zones
• Increase of well over 200% more bombs for far away target zones
• A dramatic reduction in the time required to drop a given number of bombs on the target zone
  - Over 60% reduction in the time required for close-by target zones
  - About 70% (or more) reduction in the time required for far away target zones

< ;/P>

The analysis demonstrated various operational benefits:

• Significantly increases air power efficiency. Improvement and increase of operational tempo, number of attacks executed and target kills, without increasing the aircraft fleet
• Since aircraft remain in vicinity of targets, the density of the attacks is increased, resulting in faster target neutralization
• Reduced response time from target detection to attack
• Flexible use of forward operational bases (as aircraft can takeoff without ordnance)
• Higher home base and strike aircraft survivability (reducing pressure on operating bases)
• Allows continuation of attack when home base / carrier ship is under attack
• Increased aircraft availability for alternative real time mission
• Significant reduction in determining and allocating the sequences of the combat forces and formations for the mission
• Increased aircrew familiarity with battle arena

Economical Benefits

• Less aircraft can perform more missions
• Reduction of acquisition and operation costs
• Fielding Airborne Rearming systems could introduce new economies for air forces, where fewer resources can perform more missions, resulting in lower acquisition and maintenance costs

Potential Market
Combat aircraft, helicopters and UCAV.

Status: A feasibility study has been conducted with the preliminary system design preformed by IAI's Engineering Group based on a C-130 (Hercules) re-arming a F-16. 

Patent Protection: Israel granted Patent number 157401; US Patent No. 7,793,888