SHARK Aerial Refueling Boom Design Contract
~$3.5M AFRL contract for Eaton, with partner TCO, to design a podded aerial refueling boom under the Small Hybrid Aerial Refueling Kit (SHARK) effort.
Under AFRL's Small Hybrid Aerial Refueling Kit (SHARK) effort, Eaton is designing a compact, platform-agnostic podded refueling boom that fits within an aircraft's outer mold line (an external pod/drop-tank envelope), letting fighter-sized and non-traditional tanker aircraft — including autonomous and uncrewed systems — perform in-flight refueling of boom-receptacle-equipped receivers without a large dedicated tanker. The award came from AFRL's Transformational Capabilities Office (TCO) following Eaton's participation in AFWERX's Air-to-Air Refueling Mechanism (A2RM) Digital Design Challenge.
Award detail
- Agency
- U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
- Award ID
- Ceiling value
- ~$3.5M
- Vehicle
- R&D design contract
- Awarded
- 2024-11-12
- Period of performance ends
Frequently asked
- What is the SHARK Aerial Refueling Boom Design Contract contract?
- Under AFRL's Small Hybrid Aerial Refueling Kit (SHARK) effort, Eaton is designing a compact, platform-agnostic podded refueling boom that fits within an aircraft's outer mold line (an external pod/drop-tank envelope), letting fighter-sized and non-traditional tanker aircraft — including autonomous and uncrewed systems — perform in-flight refueling of boom-receptacle-equipped receivers without a large dedicated tanker. The award came from AFRL's Transformational Capabilities Office (TCO) following Eaton's participation in AFWERX's Air-to-Air Refueling Mechanism (A2RM) Digital Design Challenge.
- Which agency awarded the SHARK Aerial Refueling Boom Design Contract contract?
- The SHARK Aerial Refueling Boom Design Contract contract was awarded by U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) under a R&D design contract vehicle.
- How much is the SHARK Aerial Refueling Boom Design Contract contract worth?
- The SHARK Aerial Refueling Boom Design Contract contract has a value of ~$3.5M, awarded on 2024-11-12.
Sources & citations2
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Eaton selected by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory to design innovative aerial refueling system
BusinessWire: Eaton Selected by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory to Design Innovative Aerial Refueling SystemVerified2024-11-12 - 2
SHARK is AFRL's small-form-factor, podded, platform-agnostic fuel-transfer mechanism effort; AFRL also awarded SHARK design contracts to Legionnaire International ($3,193,251) and Dynetics ($2,677,093) in August 2024, primarily intended to refuel medium-to-small fighter-sized aircraft.
The War Zone: Aerial Refueling Boom Pods That Could Go On F-15s In The WorksVerified2024-09-03