AERODYNAMIC TECHNOLOGY - THE ROLE OF AERODYNAMIC TECHNOLOGY IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN COMBAT AIRCRAFT

This paper examines the changing role aerodynamic technology plays in the design and development of modern combat aircraft. It reviews sever al aspects of aerodynamics which contribute to aircraft performance an d handling characteristics. It considers the importance of a range of technologies, the contribution each makes to the final integrated solu tion and comments on the compromises necessary through the design cycl e to optimise the overall weapon system, sometimes to the cost of one of the component technologies. The technologies discussed are in no wa y exhaustive but attempt to encapsulate the breadth of the subject, to illustrate its diversity and to point the way for the future developm ent if aerodynamic technology is to continue to make an important cont ribution to the design of combat aircraft. Each of the component techn ologies are discussed in terms of the contribution it makes, the tools and techniques used to predict, analyse and interpret the technology contribution, and the requirements for the direction of the developmen t of the technology for the future. Before considering the technologie s themselves it is important to understand the environment in which th ey will be used, which increasingly conditions the manner in which the y are employed and suggests the direction for their development. This paper begins, therefore, by briefly reviewing the changes to the envir onment in which the fighter pilot operates and the manner by which his requirements, and therefore the specification of the aircraft, are de fined before going on to look at the overall contribution each technol ogy makes in the design process.