DESIGNING ADVANCED
FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
Abhishek Mohapatra
16951A2101
1
TABLE
• Fighter Aircraft Requirements
• The Evolution of Stealth
Technology
• The Advanced Tactical Fighter
• The Design Process
• The Future of Aircraft Design
2
MODERN FIGHTER
AIRCRAFT REQUIREMENTS
• Air Superiority – controlling the airspace within a limited area and
within a limited length of time
• Stealth – seeing the enemy before they see you
• Maneuverability – not top speed, but climbing performance,
acceleration and turning speed
• Aerodynamics – wing loading – aircraft weight divided by wing area
– one of the most important
• Range – ability of the aircraft to reach the combat zone and cover it
• Engine – thrust to weight ratio, favorable fuel consumption, low
infrared and smoke
• Avionics – Vehicle and systems management, reduced pilot
workload, all weather capability
• Armament- kind and quantity of stores on board
• Reliability and Maintainability – systems have a high operational
rate and are easy to repair
3
THE EVOLUTION OF
STEALTH AIRCRAFT
• From the earliest days,
deception and stealth have
been used to gain the
advantage over an enemy
in combat.
• Early combat aircraft
used camouflage to make
visual detection difficult.
• The advent of RADAR in
the late 1930’s and during Romulan “Bird of Prey”
WWII enabled the early • Equipped with “Cloaking Device.”
detection of aircraft in
flight. • Made the craft invisible to
Federation sensors. 4
THE EVOLUTION OF
STEALTH
NORTHROP YB-49 BOMBER
• Designed by Jack Northrop
in the late 1940’s.
• Role was as a strategic
bomber.
• Its unique wing shape
produced a low radar cross
section, although the goal
was improved performance.
5
THE EVOLUTION OF
STEALTH
DESIGN IN THE 50’S AND 60’S
• Stealth in aircraft design does
not mean invisible – it means
“Low Observable,” reducing the
radar cross section.
• Little effort in the 50’s and 60’s.
Integrating low observable
aspects meant compromising
performance – so designers
concentrated on speed,
maneuverability, and weapons.
• A-12/SR-71 has rounded lines,
wing/body blending, conical
center bodies, fuselage chine
and canted twin fins to reduce
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
6
radar reflectivity.
RADAR CROSS SECTION
An object's Radar Cross
Section depends on its
size, reflectivity of its
surface, and the
directivity of the radar
reflection caused by the
object's geometric
shape.
RCS = Geometric cross
section × Reflectivity ×
Typical RCS diagram B-26 Invader
Directivity 7
(From Wikipedia)
STEALTH
CHARACTERISTICS
• Airframe shaped for Low
Radar Cross Section
•Use of Radar Absorbent
Material (RAM)
•Minimized engine noise
•Reduced infrared signature
•Reduced visual signature
•Use of electronic
countermeasures
8
THE FIRST STEALTH
AIRCRAFT
F-117A Nighthawk
• USAF and DARPA studies
initiated in 1973 – project
Have Blue
•Air Force invites proposals
to develop technology
prototype
•Lockheed and Northrop were
finalists and each built a
prototype for a “fly-off”
•Lockheed wins production Mission – covert reconnaissance
contract in 1976 and covert surgical strikes
Subsonic – limited performance 9
STEALTH GROWS UP
• 1980 report concluded that B-1 bomber would be
unable to penetrate Soviet air space beyond 1990
• Positive results from Have Blue (F-117) justified
launch of a full-scale low-observable bomber
program (Advanced Technology Bomber – ATB)
• Lockheed/Rockwell team and a Northrop/Boeing
team responded to requests for proposals
• Northrop relied on experience studying stealth
technology and its extensive experience with
flying wing designs and was awarded the contract
10
STEALTH GROWS UP
NORTHROP – GRUMMAN
B-2 SPIRIT
• Length – 69ft
• Height – 17ft
• Wingspan – 172 ft
• Max Speed – Mach .85
•Range 6300 nm
• Armament – 40,000 lbs in
internal weapons bays
•Powerplant – four GE F-118-
GE-100 turbofans – 17,300 lbs
11
DEVELOPING A TRULY
STEALTH FIGHTER
WHY THE NEED?
• Late 1970’s – Soviets building far more fighters than US
• Massive Soviet surface to air missile threat
• USAF looking to technology to counter Soviet numerical
advantage
• In 1981 USAF issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the
Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF)
• A RFI does not offer any money or production contracts, it
defines mission, the threat, service entry date and new features
that are desirable and feasible
• Supercruise (the ability to achieve supersonic flight without
afterburner) and stealth were considered essential components,
although stealth was still considered an exotic technology 12
DEVELOPING A TRULY
STEALTH FIGHTER
THE ADVANCED TACTICAL FIGHTER (ATF) PROGRAM
• Air Force opts to build a truly air-to-air fighter to follow the F-15
Eagle air superiority fighter - designed to enter service in mid 90’s
• In 1983 USAF issues Request for Proposals (RFP) for ATF and the
Joint Advanced Fighter Engine (JAFE)
• General Electric and Pratt & Whitney vie for engine contract
• Lockheed, Rockwell, Grumman, McDonnell Douglas, General
Dynamics, Boeing and Northrop vie for aircraft contract
• McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics were thought to have
the inside track because of F-15 and F-16
• But stealth proved to be the deciding factor. Both Northrop and
Lockheed fell back on their stealth experience and proposed
13
stealthy fighters that could perform as well as non-stealthy fighters
DEVELOPING A TRULY
STEALTH FIGHTER
THE ADVANCED TACTICAL FIGHTER (ATF) PROGRAM
• In October 1986 the USAF awards the contracts to
build prototype aircraft to Northrop and Lockheed
• Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas to build the
YF-23A
• Lockheed - Boeing - General Dynamics comprised the
other team to build the YF-22A.
• Aircraft first flights in the Fall of 1990.
• Lockheed Martin awarded contract in April 1991. The
F-22 is now in production.
14
YF-23A BLACK WIDOW II
•Wing Span 43.6 ft • Two Prototypes were built
•Length 67.4 ft • PAV 1 - two Pratt & Whitney YF119
•Height 13.9 ft engines
•Wing area 900 sq. ft.
• PAV 2 - two GE YF120 engines
•Top Speed Mach 2+
•Range 800 Nm
•Altitude 65,000 ft
•Air Superiority
•Low Observable
•Super-cruise - mach
1+ without afterburner
15
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
AN AIRFRAME MANUFACTURER
• Responsible for the design,
manufacture and integration of aircraft
and aircraft sub-assemblies
F/A-18 Carrier
Takeoff
Boeing (McDonnell Douglas/Northrop)
F/A-18F Super Hornet 16
AIRCRAFT DESIGN PROCESS
• Customer Requirements
• Conceptual Design Phase
General size and configuration of the aircraft •
aerodynamics studies • thrust loading • wing
loading • wing sweep • general body, wing and
tail configurations
• Preliminary Design Phase
Best conceptual design is chosen for testing •
inlet/engine/airframe integration • major loads
and stresses • weight • stability and control •
internal arrangement
• Detailed Design Phase
Configuration frozen • Detailed structural design •
Detailed system design and installation •
Production drawings
• Development Phase
Manufacturing and assembly
17
AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING
GROUPS
• Aerodynamics
• Advanced Design
• Avionics (airborne electronics)
• Crew Station (cockpit)
• ECS (environmental control system)
• Electrical
• Flight Test
• Fuel Systems
• Hydraulic Systems
• Propulsion Integration (engines)
• Reliability and Maintainability
• Safety
• Structures
• Vehicle Management (flight control)
18
CONFIGURATION/
SYSTEMS
INTEGRATION
• Responsible for overall internal
and external systems
arrangement
• Work with every design group
and coordinate and integrate
their designs into a single
aircraft design
• Final Product:
F-20A Tigershark Inboard Profile Drawing •
Aperture Arrangement • Three
Views • Zone Drawings
19
INBOARD PROFILE
F-23A Advanced Tactical Fighter
Profile View 20
APERTURE
ARRANGEMENT
YF-23A Prototype Air Vehicle –
21
Plan View
AIRCRAFT DESIGN
IS A COMPROMISE
• It is the task of the aircraft design engineer
to balance the customer requirements with
the physical constraints, cost and time-
scale, in order to produce the most
effective aircraft possible.
• Aircraft Design Requires Teamwork
• No “one” design group is more important
than the others.
• Note: All Engineering involves
Compromises!
22
LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
DESIGN GROUPS HAVE THEIR WAY
23
ENGINEERING JOB
DESCRIPTIONS
• Design - From Concept to Production
• Good understanding of engineering principles
• See things in 3-D (Geometry, Graphics, Kinematics)
• Like to solve problems, come up with better ways of doing things
• Analysis - Verify engineering designs (Stress, Thermal,
Aerodynamics, Dynamics)
• Engineering Theory and Mathematics
• Problem solving
• Test - Verify functionality of design
• Basic understanding of engineering theory and design principles
• Lab work and strict guidelines and procedures
• Operations- Maintaining and operating final product
• Basic understanding of engineering design and systems
• Understand how and why things work
24
YF-23A BLACK
WIDOW II
25
LOCKHEED
MARTIN F-22A
RAPTOR
•Wing Span 44.5 ft
•Length 62 ft 1 in
•Wing area 830 sq. ft.
•Top Speed Mach 2+
•Range 800 Nm
•Altitude 65,000 ft
•Air Superiority
•Low Observable
•Two Pratt & Whitney
F119-PW-100 Turbofans
@ 35,000 lbs 26
LOCKHEED MARTIN X-35 (F-35)
JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER
27
THE FUTURE
BOEING 787 DREAMLINER
28
THE FUTURE
AIRBUS A380
29
THE FUTURE
Northrop Grumman X-47B Pegasus Unmanned Combat Air System
Demonstrator (UCAS-D).
30
THE FUTURE
BOEING 797 FLYING WING
31
PASSENGER JET
THE FUTURE
SCALED COMPOSITES
SPACESHIP ONE
(Building Spaceship Two for Virgin Galactic)
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