Aerial Refuelling Systems Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Are 2026
Aerial Refuelling Systems Patents: Mapping Who Owns the Boom
73.6% concentration. The top five assignees hold 345 of 469 records in scope — a field where the boom-and-receptacle mechanics are already claimed densely by a small set of aerospace primes. Filings ran from 19 in 2017 to a peak of 46 in 2019, then continued at a high level; the 2021-2024 span shows +24% growth (21 to 26 records), consistent with a field still under active claim-building rather than one in decline. 2025 and 2026 figures are partial due to publication lag and should not be read as a drop-off.
- 1THE BOEING CO197
- 2ISRAEL AEROSPACE IND LTD60
- 3BRULIC LTD40
- 4AIRBUS DEFENCE & SPACE SAU26
- 5EADS CONSTRS AERONAUTICAS22
See the full aerial refuelling systems analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about aerial refuelling systems patents
Who holds the most patents in aerial refuelling systems?
One assignee leads the ranked field with 197 of 469 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-ranked assignee at 22 records. The top five assignees combined hold 73.6% of all records, and the top ten hold 84.9%. This is a field where a small number of aerospace and defence primes, largely tied to long-running boom-refuelling tanker programmes, account for most of the documented filing activity.
Is aerial refuelling boom technology still an active area for new patents?
Yes, filing volume grew from 21 records in 2021 to 26 in 2024, a 24% increase over that span, following an earlier peak of 46 records in 2019. Figures for 2025 and 2026 look lower only because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so those years are still filling in rather than showing a genuine drop in activity. The underlying trend across the complete years is one of sustained, not declining, filing.
What technology areas are least covered in aerial refuelling patents?
The core mechanical hardware, telescoping booms, pivot assemblies and receptacle latches, sits under IPC class B64D and covers 86.1% of the 469 records, making that ground heavily claimed. Smaller shares appear in image processing, UAV-specific classes and non-electric control variables, each under 10% of records, suggesting autonomous docking, vision-guided alignment and drone-tanker interfaces carry comparatively thinner coverage relative to the mechanical baseline.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Aerial Refuelling Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.