Conceptual design of future military air systems - an educational approach

Abstract

Die Entwicklung von Militärflugzeugen der 6. Generation erfordert neue Methoden im Luftfahrzeugentwurf, weil es sich hier um ein System of Systems handelt, in dem mehrere fliegende Einheiten zusammengefaßt werden. Der Aufsatz beschreibt die Nachprojektierung aktueller Militärflugzeuge durch Studierende, um die Anwendbarkeit bestehender Entwurfswerkzeuge zu untersuchen für die Anwendung neuer Technologien. Auf dieser Basis erfolgt die Auslegung von acht missionsspezifischen Konzepten für verschiedene Einsatzmissionen, die die Ausgangsbasis für die weitere Forschung in der Methodenentwicklung und der Systemdefinition bilden.

The development of a 6th generation fighter weapon system will exceed former ways of combat aircraft design, as it is understood as a system of systems, comprising a fighter aircraft, and in some way associated unmanned systems with effectors and sensors. This paper presents an educational and research approach for a systematic conceptual design of a 6th generation air combat system. The key challenge of modern air combat systems design is to find a way to cover advanced technologies in the conceptual design approach and especially the various potentials of multi platform arrangements. Further the applicability of commercial conceptual design tools for such modern system air combat design has to be investigated. The paper describes the re-projection of actual fighter aircraft to investigate the applicability of existing tools. It presents some experiences with special fighter technologies and their representation in the design. Eight different new concepts have been designed for specific missions to investigate similarities and differences. The paper concludes with a summarized experiences about the achieved designs and the use commercial tools. It gives an outlook to the next steps of work.