Review refuels unmanned concept as reconnaissance and tanking platform

摘要

The US Navy's long-running attempt to field a carrier-based unmanned combat aircraft has taken another turn, morphing from a surveillance and strike asset into a reconnaissance and aerial refuelling platform with "limited strike capability". The about-turn follows a top-level review and restructuring of the now-defunct unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) project, with the service's latest budget instead funding the RAQ-25 carrier-based aerial refuelling system (CBARS).