System and method of automatic piloting for in-flight refuelling of aircraft, and aircraft comprising said system

摘要

An automatic-piloting system (15) configured for being set on a receiver aircraft (1) and for controlling operations of in-flight refuelling of said receiver aircraft (1), comprising: first detection means (8), set on the receiver aircraft (1) and configured for acquiring first geometrical information associated to a first detection area (22) and a second detection area (24) belonging to a tanker aircraft (20), the first and second detection areas being linked together by a geometrical relation known to the automatic-piloting system (15); processing means (14), configured for determining, on the basis of the first geometrical information acquired, first position information associated to a relative position of the receiver aircraft (1) with respect to the tanker aircraft (20); and an automatic-pilot device (2) coupled to the processing means (14) and configured for varying flight parameters of the receiver aircraft (1) on the basis of the first position information.