The Navy is inching closer to having an operational UAV with autonomous air refueling capability. It seems that Calspan has loaded the X-47B software and hardware into their Varistab Lear and managed to simulate at least the initial approach for probe-and-drogue refueling. This is impressive not because it hasn't been done before, NASA Dryden has done the same thing using their flight control research F-18. (You can probably find the "Look ma, no hands!" picture on line if you try.) What is impressive is that we seem to be getting very close to using the results in active service.
http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.NAVAIRNewsStory&id=4882
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