US Navy Plans Aerial Refuelling Drone

The US Navy is planning to develop a new unmanned drone to be used solely for a refueling purpose, Defense One reported.

The new drone will be produced by the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike program with refueling as its primary role, and will have an initial limited strike capability, but more could be added in coming years, Defense One noted.

"Now it would seem a decision has been made between strike and recon. The winner is Aerial refueling. Enter the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System, or CBARS," a Defense One journal report stated on Monday.

The Navy was expected to produce an aerial tanker based on aircraft carriers that could refuel other planes low on gasoline, the report explained. A compromise provision in the 2016 defense authorization act provided $350 million for the program, well over the Pentagon’s $135 million request.

"Defense Secretary Ash[ton] Carter could reveal the decision Tuesday morning when he’s to speak about the fiscal 2017 budget submission at the Economic Club in Washington. The budget itself is scheduled to be delivered to Congress on February 9," the journal stated.