Design of a Fifth Generation Unmanned Fighter Aircraft for Close Air Support
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18667/cienciaypoderaereo.693Keywords:
Unmanned aircraft, close air support, stealth, militaryAbstract
The evolution of combat aircraft design has been modified by the inclusion of new highly demanding parameters within the research areas of aerodynamics, stealth, and operating processes optimization. Hence, this article presents the design of an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) for the execution of close air support (CAS) missions in the forthcoming decades. The results achieved prove the abilities of UCAVs as fifth-generation aircrafts for the replacement of internationally recognized air fleets (A-10 Thunderbolt II and Sukhoi Su-25) and, likewise, ensure their usefulness and feasibility in future combat environments. This research focuses on one of the most widely discussed variables in air combat survival, that is, stealth due to electromagnetic phenomena, for which we obtained a radar cross-section (RCS) value of -24.18 dBsm, represented in a detectability area of 0.0038 m2 in clean configuration, that is lower than the reported by stealth aircrafts such as the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. The design of the proposed aircraft allows operation with a maximum takeoff weight of 61,900 lbs. and a maximum payload of 11,240 lbs., retrofitted to a wing and outrigger configuration for transonic ranges.
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