One of the most technically demanding, but routine operations in military aviation is aerial refuelling, as it involves two aircraft flying extremely close together at high speed while fuel is transferred mid-air.
The challenges involve maintaining precise position, speed, and altitude even as pilots deal with turbulence from the tanker, limited visibility, and the tough task of connecting a fuel boom or probe with near-perfect accuracy, making it a task that requires significant skill and expertise.
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Amid reports that the US lost six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refuelling aircraft, which has been in service for more than 60 years and has been involved in several fatal accidents, in another incident while supporting operations against Iran, China has announced that it has streamlined aerial refuelling operations with an AI system to ensure safety and enhance efficiency.
PLA Daily recently reported that the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has developed an “aerial refuelling area management system” that tracks real-time airspace conditions and uses integrated algorithms to automatically compute the fuel status of all aircraft operating in a particular area.
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The system comes up with highly scientific, optimised tanker–fighter pairing plans and offers recommendations to pilots based on the fuel status, airspace capacity, and flight duration of each aircraft, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
PLA Daily quoted Yu He, an Air Force officer involved in the system, as saying that while pairing was a “blind choice” earlier, the ‘smart task assignment’ programme recommends scientifically sound and highly efficient solutions, enabling the maximisation of aerial refuelling effectiveness.
According to a PLA Daily report, the earlier random refuelling model, where tankers loitered passively while fighters chose the nearest available aircraft, had emerged as a weakness, limiting combat effectiveness and proving inadequate for future battlefields.
The move to turn aerial refuelling into a data-driven, networked operation signals China’s continued move towards a “system-of-systems” warfare, leading to increased combat endurance and a faster tempo of operations.
Coming at a time when the US KC-135 was in the news for a fatal accident, the move by China also signals its intent to make aerial refuelling less risky. This would also mean the PLA Air Force jets can stay longer in the air without incidents near India, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.
