October 23, 2006
Airborne Weapon Re-Arming System: Revolutionary Concept for Combat Aircraft
Whereas aerial refueling increases the range of an aircraft almost indefinitely, bombers still must return to base for rearming as they are limited in the amount of weapons they carry. However, when the target is situated hundreds of miles away from a friendly base, precious time and resources are lost on flights to base for rearming.
...the Israeli company Far Technologies Ltd. developed the Airborne Re-Arming System (ABRA a.k.a. Airborne Weapon Re-Arming System, or ABWRA); currently patent pending) in conjunction with the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) engineering group..
The ABRA concept is similar in many respects to airborne refueling, with a number of notable modifications. Far Technologies' system comprises a rearming plane (a C-130, C-130c, C-17, or even a C-5) with an internal bomb storage area and loading device consisting of a large aft door with a modified remote-driven robotic arm (boom) equipped with a day-night camera as well as sensors, and, on the attack aircraft, a special smart pylon to receive the arms from the boom.
Each C-130c would be able to carry a payload of up to sixteen 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs (such as an MK-84), while larger aircraft would easily be able to rearm a full squadron of planes. (A C-17 could potentially carry up to seventy MK-84s and a C-5, around 100.)
...the efficiency of an air strike could be doubled with only a slight increase in time and flight distance. While manned aircraft could benefit from airborne rearming in certain scenarios, unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) currently under development could theoretically gain much more from such a technology. Unlike manned aircraft, UCAVs can currently stay aloft for days, and in the future, weeks or even months at a time, performing countless refueling and rearming rounds. Such a capability does not yet exist and would require some level of automatic operation, similar to that currently under development for aerial refueling...
press release | Defense Review
~With ABRA Israel and the US will be able to halt invading armies sooner and more cheaply. Places like Fallujah and South Lebanon can be destroyed in half the time. Anything that enables America and Israel to more efficiently bomb the infrastructure and population of future enemies will be implemented as soon as possible with little public debate and even less concern.
Posted by Stubbornson at October 23, 2006 10:04 PM