The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has announced an Air Force Explore Opportunity Call contest, which participants, among other things, will need to develop a concept for reloading the ammunition of combat aircraft in the air. Companies wishing to participate in the competition must submit applications by November 11, 2019.
According to the description of the contest, the US Air Force may need to operate from airfields located close to enemy territory. Such airfields, after takeoff, maybe hit and become unsuitable for landing returning combat aircraft.
For this reason, the military may require technology that will allow for refuelling and replenishment of the ammunition of aircraft in the air. Thanks to this, they will be able to continue to carry out combat missions without the need to land or be in the air until the landing strip is restored.
Participants in the competition will have to provide the military with a description of the concept of simultaneous refuelling and replenishment of ammunition for combat aircraft on 2-3 pages. The concept should be suitable for a quick transition to research and development.
In addition to the concept of replenishing the ammunition of fighter jets, participants can submit to the contest ideas for creating an emergency assistance system for catapulted pilots. According to the description of this competition, the system should be able to deliver to the pilot, located anywhere in the world, a cargo of medicine and provisions within two hours after the bailout.
The US Air Force Research Laboratory believes that for such a system it may be necessary to create a kind of space storage facility that will dump containers at the required point the size of a compact first-aid kit to a small refrigerator.
Finally, the announced Air Force Explore Opportunity Call competition involves the development of a system concept that will track the movement of specific equipment using satellite images taken by civilian satellites.
