It has long been known that aircraft flying in close formation can achieve an overall efficiency much greater than is possible for each aircraft flying alone. When coupled with possible near-term advances in solar-electric power storage and aeronautical propulsion systems, it is theoretically possible to create a formation flight system that is capable of truly infinite endurance. This paper discusses a research effort currently underway that addresses the design and implementation of such a system. A brief overview of the system concept is given, and some of the particular problems inherent are more fully discussed. In particular, the difficulties involved in the autonomous control of such systems are presented and discussed.
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Chichka et al. (1998) studied this question.