Aircraft Design 2 (1999) 65}80

Mission and concept evaluation for a multirole, mission-adaptable air vehicle

V.L. Wells *, J.W. Rutherford , A.M. Corgiat
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Box 876 106, Tempe, AZ 85287-6106, USA US Army Aviation and Troop Command, Huntsville, AL, USA Received 8 January 1999

Abstract The paper describes the results from a concept exploration study to assess the feasibility of a modular/recon"gurable rotorcraft designated the `multirole, mission-adaptable air vehicle (MRMAAV)a. The initial phase of the study consisted of developing mission and operational requirements for the vehicle. This phase resulted in the assessment that the aircraft should be considered primarily an attack vehicle but with the capability, through recon"guration, for performing several alternate missions. Evaluation of several high-speed rotorcraft concepts led to the selection of two platform con"gurations for further study. These included the variable-diameter compound helicopter (VDCH) and the joined-wing tilt rotor (JWTR). Detailed sizing e!orts focused on the VDCH as the more feasible of the two concepts. Innovative aspects of the air vehicle include variable-diameter main rotor, turboshaft/turbofan convertible engine, virtual-canopy cockpit, and recon"gurable payload bay. The mission-equipment package is highlighted by an autonomous remote sensor platform. The study identi"es areas which best lend themselves to a modular or recon"gurable design approach and describes in detail a candidate vehicle meeting the MRMAAV objectives. 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction For decades, visionary US leaders have provided for the strategic development of superior military equipment, training and doctrine that have enabled the optimization of the soldier in today's battle"eld environment. However, because of the rapidly changing global situation, a new direction is forseen for the soldier and the Army of the future. Imminent challenges include resource
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: valana@asu.edu (V.L. Wells) 1369-8869/99/$ - see front matter 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 1 3 6 9 - 8 8 6 9 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 0 3 - 8

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constraints and the proliferation of technology, and yet the next-generation Army must possess the ability to operate as a quick reaction, globally self-deployable force incorporating new operational concepts such as fully integrated operations of US Military Services. Such projects as Joint Vision 2010, Force XXI and Army After Next (AAN) provide a conceptual framework from which the US Armed Forces can formulate a blueprint for the upcoming decades. Emerging from these e!orts are the attributes that will characterize the military beyond the year 2010 } strategically mobile, covert, force projecting and sustaining, and expandable. To meet the emerging challenges set forth in Joint Vision 2010 and AAN, the Aviation Research Development and Engineering Center (AVRDEC) of the Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM) has conceptualized a future air vehicle, termed the multirole mission-adaptable air vehicle (MRMAAV). In principle, this vehicle will be mission-recon"gurable for use in a variety of joint-venture aviation roles. A high degree of subsystem modularity is envisioned for this aircraft. Flight controls, structures, avionics, propulsion, weapons and the con"guration itself all present opportunities for modular design. The mission #exibility available through the use of a single platform of this type represents the greatest advantage of the MRMAAV approach. Such versatility enhances the vehicle utility and reduces the need for multiple platforms with their respective costly infrastructures. For example, training, maintenance, supply, and manpower requirements diminish in complexity and cost if one vehicle can replace up to three others in the #eet, and large life-cycle cost savings would result from the "elding of such a multi-use aircraft. Commanders in the "eld would inherently possess assets capable of performing a multiplicity of missions, simplifying the force structure, allowing increased #exibility in tailoring the force and reducing dependency on the availability of external assets. The concept of modular, recon"gurable systems has been successfully employed with other Army systems. The HUMMV probably represents the best recent example of this approach. This vehicle is available in many con"gurations ranging from weapons carrier to communications center to "eld ambulance. The current challenge is to apply this philosophy to an aircraft which is more sensitive than a ground vehicle to large excursions in design parameter values. While this appears formidable, emerging technologies, coupled with a design e!ort speci"cally oriented toward achieving this goal may prove the practicality of such a system. The following describes results from a concept exploration study to oversee the feasibility of a modular/recon"gurable rotorcraft. The study identi"es candidate areas that best lend themselves to a modular design approach and speci"es high risk technology areas that, if developed, could enable the development of otherwise marginally feasible modular concepts. 1.1. Mission requirements The initial phase of the project consisted of developing mission and design objectives. Recognizing that no requirement for a multi-mission vehicle currently exists, the "rst step in the design process consisted of developing notional missions and goals. Though the Army has no speci"c mission capabilities de"ned for the MRMAAV, some initial guidelines for development of the requirements were provided. These include: 1. The vehicle should have tri-service applicability with emphasis on Army and Marine Corps needs.

V.L. Wells et al. / Aircraft Design 2 (1999) 65}80 Table 1 Extended-attack sizing mission Segment Take o! Cruise to forward assembly area Forward assembly to holding area Holding area to battle position Battle position Battle position to air control point Cruise to rear assembly area Reserve Land Condition HOGE 4000, 953F NOE NOE HOGE NOE 4000, 953F HOGE Distance Speed Time

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5 min 150 Nmi 20 Nmi 10 Nmi 5 Nmi 150 Nmi 350 kt 40 kt 40 kt 40 min 40 kt 350 kt 350 kt

20 min 5 min

2. The vehicle should perform in attack, utility, scout, and search and rescue roles. 3. The vehicle should require a maximum of one pilot. Autonomous capability for some roles should be considered. 4. The vehicle should carry four troops or two stretchers. 5. The vehicle should have the capability for escorting V-22. 6. The vehicle must have VTOL capability with a vertical rate of climb of 400 ft/min. 7. The vehicle should be self-deployable up to a range of 2100 Nmi. The requirement for tri-service applicability immediately speci"es the maximum dash speed which the vehicle must attain. To function as an escort for the V-22 Tilt Rotor, it must have the capability to #y faster than the V-22. This requirement indicates the need for a high-speed rotorcraft and rules out a conventional helicopter. However, the bulk of the missions other than V-22 escort do not require high speed; in fact, helicopter-like attributes dominate. Table 1 outlines the extended-attack mission used to size the vehicle. The entire mission is #own with 2860 lb of weapons and ammunition.

2. Selection of modular components `MRMAAVa implies that the vehicle perform a variety of missions through the use of a single airframe. Aviation history is replete with attempts to accomplish multiple missions with a single aircraft only to compromise their capabilities so much that they could reach only a mediocre level of performance in any one capacity. Designers of these vehicles attempted to include the multimission capability completely within the weapons system so that performance of each mission was penalized for the capability of performing some other mission. It is the philosophy of the MRMAAV concept to tailor the air vehicle to the particular mission through modularity and recon"gurability so that it becomes optimized for the speci"c mission to be accomplished. While this seems to be a very di$cult goal to achieve, again history rescues the designer, particularly in rotorcraft development, with examples. During the Vietnam War, UH-1s (Hueys) equipped with guns and rockets became the "rst armed helicopters with the added capability to carry troops or

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Fig. 1. Mission/design characteristics QFD matrix.

payload. The CH-54, Tarhe included a `people poda to transport troops although its design was intended primarily to carry large external loads. Tilt wings and tilt rotors represent concepts that recon"gure from hovering vehicles to high-speed capable vehicles in #ight. The initial task, given the array of missions for MRMAAV, was to determine which vehicle attributes lend themselves to the modular approach. A Qualify Function Deployment (QFD) exercise provides a systematic means for assessing the importance of each subsystem to a given mission. Through weighting of the missions, those characteristics scoring highest re#ect those needed most across the mission spectrum. Those scoring low (those not needed often or those needed only for a particular mission) represent opportunities for introducing modular components which con"gure the system speci"cally for a certain role while maintaining the generality of the platform itself. Fig. 1 shows this relation. A high value (3) in the matrix represents a strong dependence of the mission on the characteristic, while a low number (1) represents little dependence. Results obtained using the QFD procedure indicate that the attack mission has the highest relative importance factor by a considerable amount signifying that the design process should ultimately focus on this mission. The relative importance among the design characteristics, tabulated along the bottom row, is determined by multiplying the abovementioned relative importance factor by the characteristic's dependence strength and adding down the columns. The totals show that there are several characteristics important to all of the missions: crash survivability, high ballistic tolerance, environmental hardening, su$cient pilot "eld of vision, and deployability. In a similar manner, engineering attributes are related to the mission characteristics in Fig. 2.

3. Air vehicle description The terms `modulara and `recon"gurablea evoke visions of removing and replacing parts of the aircraft depending on the mission. Candidates for this may include wings, fuselage parts and

V.L. Wells et al. / Aircraft Design 2 (1999) 65}80

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Fig. 2. Design characteristics/attribute QFD matrix.

auxiliary engines. Examples of aircraft intended to have recon"gurable options exist throughout the history of aviation though most were never "elded. Considering logistical aspects of deploying the aircraft and the support equipment and pieces required to recon"gure quickly returns the designer to the advantages of working with a single vehicle incorporating the necessary attributes to accomplish all required missions. Unfortunately, this approach requires compromises which result in a non-optimum platform for any one mission. Once again, history has demonstrated the pitfalls with this approach. The high-speed dash, e$cient hover, and vertical take o! and landing (VTOL) requirements led to consideration of the class of vehicles known as `high-speed rotorcrafta which have the ability to take o! and land vertically but also convert to a forward-#ight mode for achieving cruise speed and performance similar to that of a "xed-wing aircraft. A modular approach to the airframe was not entertained because of the previously stated concerns. However, a recon"guration serves as the basis of the design approach. Most high-speed rotorcraft con"gurations recon"gure from helicopter to "xed-wing modes through transferring of lift from rotating blades to "xed wings. At the same time, propulsion may be shifted from one source to another. In each case, the air vehicle recon"gures in #ight enabling it to achieve the performance of either a helicopter or a "xed-wing airplane. In selecting a con"guration, emphasis was placed on maximizing the e$ciency of the air vehicle in both #ight modes. This approach called for relatively low disk loading in helicopter mode and aerodynamic cleanliness in "xed-wing mode. Previous studies have demonstrated the advantages of incorporating an integrated propulsion system that is used in both #ight modes since, in general, empty weight and fuel weight increase

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when an auxiliary independent propulsion system is employed [1,2]. Folding- and stowing-rotor concepts fall into this category of aircraft requiring auxiliary engines and were eliminated from further consideration. Maneuverability requirements during hover and conversion and the necessary capability to attack targets in all #ight modes forced the tilt-wing concept out of contention as well. The fan-in-wing was considered too ine$cient to e!ectively operate in vertical#ight mode. It was therefore determined to commit to study further a variation of the tilt-rotor con"guration and the variable-diameter compound helicopter. 3.1. The joined-wing tilt rotor (JWTR) Because the `conventionala tilt rotor, as exempli"ed by the XV-15 and V-22 aircraft, requires a very thick wing, and because the location of the rotors with respect to the wing results in a large downloading penalty, the joined-wing tilt rotor was considered as an alternative which could alleviate the di$culties associated with the conventional design. The joined wing, proposed by Wolkovitch [3], is comprised of two sets of wings arranged to form a diamond shape in both front and plan views. The primary bene"ts of this con"guration are reduced weight and greater wing sti!ness for a given wing area. Fig. 3 shows a conceptual drawing of a candidate JWTR. Because of the increased wing sti!ness, the wing thickness can be reduced as compared with conventional designs, increasing the wing critical Mach number and, thus, the high-speed e$ciency of the aircraft. The planform of the wing results in a lower download drag, increasing the hover and VTOL e$ciency. Because of the 350 kt

Fig. 3. Conceptual joined-wing tilt rotor with variable-diameter prop-rotors.

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cruise requirement, the JWTR utilizes variable-diameter prop-rotors ("rst proposed by Sikorsky [4]) in order to reduce the helical tip Mach number in high-speed forward #ight and to allow missile launch from wing stores. The JWTR has the advantage that the tilt-rotor concept is a proven one. The conversion process is relatively simple and the conversion corridor is wide. However, the maximum speed of the joined-wing vehicle is limited by the whirl-#utter instability } an unstable coupling of the rotor in-plane forces with wing #apping and nacelle pitching modes. Analysis to date indicates that this instability limits the JWTR to speeds lower than the required 350}400 kt. Nonconventional, optimized structural design of the joined wings may eliminate the whirl-#utter problem, but further sizing of the JWTR was not attempted at this time. 3.2. The variable-diameter compound helicopter (VDCH ) Fig. 4 shows a three-view drawing of a conceptual variable-diameter compound helicopter. In order to meet all performance constraints, the vehicle makes use of two convertible turbofan engines, able to provide shaft power to drive the main and tail rotors and jet thrust, either separately or simultaneously. The wings allow for o!-loading of the main rotor so that rotor stall and compressibility e!ects do not hinder the vehicle performance at high forward speed. In contrast to other high-speed rotorcraft types, the VDCH has no true `conversiona. Instead, the transition between helicopter and "xed-wing #ight occurs continuously throughout the #ight envelope. At speeds above a critical cruise velocity (200 kt for this aircraft), the rotor has been retracted to its smallest diameter and o!-loaded. At this speed, the engine acts mainly as a turbofan with only a small amount of power diverted to maintain rotor rotation. A blown #ap incorporated into the wing trailing edge can perform as a conventional #ap, or it can use engine bleed air to increase circulation. This device allows the aircraft to operate purely as a "xed-wing aircraft at relatively low speed and also to take o! and land conventionally. The VDCH has some signi"cant advantages over other high-speed rotorcraft. Conversion is simple and fast relative to that of a tilt rotor or tilt wing, reducing vulnerability during the process. Rotor-wing or stowed-rotor aircraft require complex mechanisms to stop, lock and stow the rotor. The VDCH can operate as a "xed-wing aircraft even in take o! and landing, and, if necessary, it can complete its mission with rotors inoperative. 3.2.1. VDCH design methodology The fuselage designed for the VDCH features several innovative characteristics. (A fuselage for the JWTR was also designed with minimal variation from that for the VDCH.) Sponsons hold the forward, main landing gear for this tail-dragger con"guration. The pilot enters the canopy-less cockpit through an opening formed by sliding forward the top portion of the fuselage surrounding and forward of the cockpit. The main gun is retractable to reduce drag at high speed. The payload bay is designed to hold four seated passengers or two stretchers. Depending on the current mission, this compartment can also carry weapons, fuel, cargo, or other equipment. The vehicle utilizes a tail-fan antitorque device embedded in the vertical "n. For this particular vehicle, design rotor tip speed and maximum wing loading are related to each other. Clearly, the wing must support the full weight of the aircraft at a speed corresponding to an advance ratio of somewhat less than one. A wing loading can be determined for a typical hover

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Fig. 4. Conceptual variable-diameter compound helicopter.

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tip speed with the rotor in its fully extended con"guration (730 ft/s). As the vehicle increases its speed, the rotor contracts to a minimum of 60% of its hover radius resulting in a reduced tip speed (438 ft/s). Thus, 438 ft/s, or 260 kt, is the forward speed required for an advance ratio of 1. Safety considerations require that the aircraft actually #y with the rotor completely o!loaded at 30% lower speed than this, or 200 kt (337 ft/s). The wing loading is computed from this minimum speed requirement along with a known maximum wing lift coe$cient and air density. The design of the wing circulation-control system determines the maximum C at any given * speed and momentum coe$cient. Previous study of such a system indicates that an un#apped C  of 1.5 is easily achieved at a speed of 200 kt with a slot height of 0.02 in and a slot Mach * number of 0.65. Using this value for C  and the density at 4000 pressure altitude at 953F gives * a maximum wing loading of 163 lb/ft. The circulation-control system requires 5% bleed air corresponding to a speci"c thrust loss of 8%. Hence, at higher speed, the wing should support the aircraft weight without the use of blowing so that full engine thrust may be utilized in attaining the 350 kt cruise velocity. For the sizing study, the wing loading was set at 130 lb/ft in order to conservatively estimate the aircraft performance. The aircraft can maintain steady, level #ight at 270 kt with the 130 lb/ft design wing loading at a conventional (no blowing) wing lift coe$cient of 0.66. The #apped stall speed with full blowing for this wing loading is approximately 125 kt so that the aircraft can operate from conventional runways if desired. Using the hover tip speed of 730 ft/s and the maximum wing loading of 130 lb/ft, a version the industry-standard sizing code HESCOMP II, modi"ed for use with a convertible engine, was used to determine the aircraft characteristics. The vehicle gross weight for the design mission was computed to be 29,700 lb with an empty weight of 21,750 lb. Total weapons payload, excluding "xed weight, was equal to 2960 lb. Fuel required to complete the extended-attack mission was 4540 lb.

3.2.2. VDCH performance Because it is designed for a high cruise speed, the VDCH equivalent #at-plate drag area is 26.4 ft, somewhat less than a typical attack helicopter. The 400 ft/min vertical-rate-of-climb requirement dictates the engine size of approximately 4845 static hp per engine at sea level. The hover ceiling is approximately 8500 ft density altitude. In "xed-wing mode, the aircraft ceiling is about 39,000 ft at a speed of 185 kt, but a detailed analysis of thrust reduction as a function of circulation-control bleed percentage must be carried out to determine the exact ceiling since this velocity is below the stall speed for the unblown wing. The aircraft reaches a maximum speed of 415 kt at approximately 33,000 ft. The ferry mission is completed autonomously and with fuel tanks loaded in the payload bay. This con"guration increases the fuel capacity by approximately 9500 lb and the takeo! gross weight by 6500 lb. For this mission, the aircraft uses a CTOL takeo! "eld. The circulation-control system can provide a low-speed maximum lift coe$cient in takeo! con"guration (high- , plain #aps) estimated at over 4.0, giving a takeo! distance of roughly 4500 ft. The rotor can be used to o! load the wing for STOL capability. The ferry range at 35,000 ft is computed to be 1950 Nmi, just shy of the desired 2100 Nmi.

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3.2.3. Modular and reconxgurable design The cockpit, weapons systems, payload bay, engine, rotor and high-lift system are the primary modular/recon"gurable components of the aircraft. The following sections will discuss crewstation and mission-equipment packages in detail. The payload bay is 6.17 (1.88 m) high;8 (2.44 m) long;5 (1.52 m) wide. Four folding seats, two against each side wall, hold the passengers. Alternatively, two stretchers "t in the compartment, one above the other. Troops and stretchers can be loaded through a sliding side door. A two-panel, sliding #oor opening allows use of standard palettes for carrying alternate payloads such as ordnance, communications equipment, surveillance equipment, or fuel. The variable-diameter rotor design is based on the Sikorsky TRAC rotor which can extend and retract in #ight using a jackscrew. A system of clutches in the rotor hub controls the extension/retraction. Fig. 5 shows a schematic of the TRAC-rotor design. The convertible engine can be used in turboshaft mode where gases are directed to the power turbine which drives the main-rotor and tail-rotor shafts. In turbofan mode, variable-inlet guide vanes direct inlet air through the fan and the shaft is de-clutched to provide jet thrust from the engine. The wing is out"tted with a trailing-edge #ap which can operate conventionally or with the circulation-control system to produce high lift coe$cients. Engine bleed air is used to pressurize the wing plenums. Slots located near the #ap hinge provided tangential blowing when the system is in use. A crossover duct provides pressurization to both wing plenums in the event of engine failure. It is anticipated that a maximum of 8% thrust loss will occur when the circulation-control system is in operation. The gross weight of 29,700 lb is large compared with current attack helicopters. However, the Longbow Apache with full ordnance and fuel can reach nearly 20,000 lb while the Russian Hind and the prototype Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk (both capable of carrying a squad of troops) weigh over 22,000 and 24,000 lb, respectively. These do not #y at the speed required for MRMAAV,

Fig. 5. Schematic of Sikorsky TRAC-rotor system (from Ref. [5]).

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however. It is reasonable to expect that an aircraft developed to ful"ll the MRMAAV mission would be of a size similar to the concept vehicle. All required technology for production of an air-vehicle prototype has been demonstrated, but development of MRMAAV would be considered high risk, and the level of complexity is signi"cantly greater than a conventional aircraft or rotorcraft.

4. Crew station and avionics The study did not include investigation into the single-pilot cockpit issues, which have consistently spawned a great deal of controversy particularly during the US Army LHX program. Pilot workload remains the key issue for resolution. The approach taken with this study starts from the requirement that the vehicle capability include autonomous operation for some missions. Given this capability, the crew can be viewed, for some missions, as the onboard decision maker with a great many of the piloting tasks performed through the autonomous capability inherent in the vehicle. The purely autonomous capability is used for missions which require little human, on the spot, decision making, such as utility and self-deployment. Typically, these missions require #ying from point to point with little deviation from the #ight plan, in contrast to an armed mission. Designing a crew station to maximize the advantage of the autonomous capability and yet support a crew member represented a signi"cant challenge. A removable, modular crew station, while appearing at "rst to keep to the spirit of the MRMAAV concept, proved impractical after considering the logistical impact of peculiar ground support equipment (PGSE) necessary to install the crew station or the resources necessary to deploy the modular crew station while the vehicle deploys autonomously. The design of the aircraft would necessarily incorporate the crew support systems, structure and space for the inhabited crew station even during missions allowing its removal. The removable cockpit seems to o!er few advantages and many disadvantages; hence it is not included as a modular system. Instead, a philosophy making maximum use of the aircraft's autonomous capability minimizes the penalty associated with incorporating a permanent crew station into the vehicle. Speci"cally, extensive use of sensors for pilotage and target acquisition allow the display of actual imagery on a virtual cockpit display in a manner similar to that found in modern simulators. The display consists of a wrap-around array of digital micromirror devices (DMD2+) which form the basis of digital light processing (DLP2+), pioneered by Texas Instruments. The display surface material is a #exible plastic upon which are mounted semiconductor controlled micromirrors that serve as display pixels. This type of display surface is extremely thin relative to current #at-panel displays and exhibits sharp, high-resolution imagery. A grid layout supports a fail-operational system to revert imagery from failed panels to operational panels. Provisions for touch-screen technology could be a future enhancement allowing the pilot to pinpoint areas for enhanced vision such as for IR, I2TV, and zooming. This approach minimizes the space, weight and power of the traditional cockpit through lightweight displays, and improves structural e$ciency and ballistic protection for the pilot. Sensors located around the aircraft ensure adequate "eld of regard and "eld of view for the pilot. Additional lower de"nition sensors are placed inboard on the fuselage to aid in close-in maneuvering. Fig. 6 shows exterior sensor locations. High-speed signal processors convert sensor images into

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Fig. 6. External sensor installation locations.

digital signals which can then be fused. A head tracker follows the pilots head, controlling the switch from sensor to sensor providing for a seamless display of imagery with higher resolution in the direction of pilot view. Lower resolution completes the peripheral view. Sight-line information is also sent to the weapons processor for tactical engagement purposes. Other highlights of the crew station design include a "ber optic bus and control system with built in redundancy, multi-function displays for system monitoring and a recon"gurable mission processor array. The latter enables recon"guring the vehicle from piloted to autonomous operation through software changes only. Communications systems allow transmitting and receiving digital voice, data, and imagery through encoded, compressed bursts. This provides high security with low susceptibility to jamming or interference. Vehicle diagnostics systems monitor the health and usage of major subsystems, dynamic components and critical structure using algorithms designed to predict failures and life usage.

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5. Mission equipment 5.1. Weapons A variety of weapons were considered for implementation on the air vehicle. These ranged from conventional weapons typical of attack/reconnaissance aircraft to non-lethal weapons used for operations other than war. The latter included many weapons in the research and development stage such as High Intensity Sound, Electromagnetic Pulse, Sonic Bullets, Lights, and Sticky Goo. The incorporation of non-lethal weapons increased the utility of the MRMAAV over current attack/reconnaissance aircraft designed primarily for attacking armor. Brilliant weapons, those with the capability to detect, recognize, identify and lock on prior to or after launch, were considered as critical enhancements to this kind of vehicle. Weapons of this nature begin to reduce the need for a piloted presence even more than called for in the present design. These signi"cantly increase the survivability of the vehicle allowing it to remain masked while engaging targets. The hurdle to overcome with these weapons is cost and positive control. 5.2. Target acquisition The weapons processors reside at the heart of the target acquisition system. For MRMAAV, a redundant set of weapons processors process targeting data received from the sensors and combine with aircraft state, and position information to compute "ring solutions. In addition to second generation FLIR technology which promises increased range and reduced weight and size, RF technology in the form of a Smart Focal Plane Array will have the capability to cover a wide range of wavelengths. To ensure seamless coverage in all conditions, sensor fusion will be employed to enhance target recognition capabilities and reduce possible pilot confusion when switching between sensors. In general, sensors available at the time of development will be incorporated into the MRMAAV concept. The ability to make the sensors modular will depend on the degree of miniaturization that can be achieved in the future. Future R&D directions should address the trade o! between size and capability of the sensors. Since not all missions require targeting sensors, a modular approach to implementation of these sensors is included in the following section. Pilotage sensors are also linked to the weapons processors to provide limited target acquisition capability in the event that the primary targeting sensors are lost. 5.3. Remote sensor platform Incorporation of target acquisition sensors on a remote sensor platform (RSP) o!ered a unique application of modularity for the air vehicle. Since these sensors are not required for a number of missions, the space weight and power allocated for them can be eliminated through such an approach. Fig. 7 shows a notional RSP attached to the wing pylon of MRMAAV. The remote sensor platform can be attached to MRMAAV for those missions requiring target acquisition sensors, such as attack or reconnaissance. Initially, thought was given to attaching a sensor pod to the vehicle when needed, but the added mission #exibility a!orded by the remote sensor platform and the increased performance available to the `mothera ship after launch of the RSP provided all the bene"ts of the pod, while enhancing its capabilities. The RSP is air launched from the vehicle

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Fig. 7. Variable-diameter compound helicopter (extented rotor) with RSP mounted on left wing.

and #ies autonomously along a predesignated #ight path. The controlling MRMAAV pilot is able to change the #ight path by changing way points on a digital map. The new navigation information is sent automatically to the RSP and it determines the control inputs to make changes to its #ight path. In this way, the pilot can control the remote sensor platform but is not `#yinga it. In a similar manner, the pilot can control the direction of the sensor view. Sensor information is relayed back to the MRMAAV and provides targeting data to the weapons processor which can in turn be relayed to other aircraft for battle management. Target recognition algorithms are resident on board the RSP, while systems on board MRMAAV provide fusion and the necessary processing for positive identi"cation and targeting. Translation into "re control data requires using data on the RSP position, sight-line and range to target translated into relative direction and range data from MRMAAV. The weapons processor then provides this information to the lock-onafter-launch weapons for "ring. The RSP sensor view is digitally displayed to the pilot as a picturein-picture on the crew station virtual cockpit display. Additionally, the weapons processor automatically prioritizes targets, with a manual override capability. Finally, ordnance is "red by the pilot. Upon completion of the mission, the RSP remains behind to assess battle damage, then #ies autonomously to a preplanned landing zone for recovery. Several advantages to this approach determined its selection. The modular approach this o!ers minimizes the penalty of added weight in missions not requiring that level of target acquisition. The RSP provides the ability to acquire targets at longer range and around terrain features while MRMAAV remains concealed. This capability provides an opportunity to focus less on the sensor range, since the platform (RSP) extends the MRMAAV location without exposing the main platform. While deviating from current R&D directions, a more cost-e!ective approach to target acquisition development could be taken rather than increasing sensor range. Survivability is enhanced since the MRMAAV can remain concealed or masked while the RSP searches for targets or scouts the way ahead. From the perspective of the RSP, air launching it, as required, completely under the control of the MRMAAV ensures positive control and it allows a reduction in weight of the RSP since mission fuel is not burned until the vehicle is launched.

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Despite this major modular feature, the MRMAAV would still have limited target acquisition capability through its pilotage sensors in the event the RSP were lost. One RSP could provide battle"eld surveillance for more than one MRMAAV.

6. Conclusions The study demonstrates the technical feasibility of a recon"gurable aircraft with multi-mission capability. With continuing emphasis on automation, avionics miniaturization, and more powerful processing, the practicality of such a vehicle increases annually. Several concepts outlined demonstrate approaches to this problem. Table 2 summarizes the major modular/recon"gurable concepts as they apply to enabling missions. During development of a modular vehicle, consideration must be given to the logistics impact associated with transporting and assembling various modules. This severely limits the practicality of a system with many large modular components. Avionics modularity may best be achieved through common boxes recon"gured through software changes. Recon"gurable aircraft have been #ying for 40 years, but their capabilities improve with technology development. Automatic controls and electronic control systems aid in smooth in-#ight recon"guring. The greater emphasis applied to autonomous vehicles will help realize the goal of an aircraft that can be both piloted or operated autonomously. In this case, the improvement in technology in one area improves the capability in the other. This can be seen in the virtual cockpit of MRMAAV where the ability to #y autonomously simply augments the pilot for a piloted mission. This level of sophistication allows operation of a one-pilot vehicle and signi"cantly changes the nature of the crew station. The idea of a remote-sensor platform builds on the increasing capability of autonomous-vehicle technology and extends the range and #exibility of the target acquisition subsystem while improving survivablity of the weapon platform. An approach such as the RSP may enable a change in sensor R&D direction. The successful development and acquisition of any weapons system depends on cost. Despite its technical feasibility, which increases with time, the costs associated with placing advanced technology

Table 2 Summary of modular and recon"gurable components for multiple missions Mission Attack Armed recon Scout Combat S & R Utility Command and control Self-deploy Enhanced performance Variable Diameter Rotor. Modular components Weapons, RSP Weapons, RSP Weapons, RSP RSP, Winch Cargo Hook Recon"gurable components Piloted, Weapons Bay, VDR Piloted, Weapons Bay Piloted, Weapons Bay Piloted, Passenger Bay Autonomous, Cargo Bay, Control Laws Autonomous, Communications Console Autonomous, Fuel Bay VDR, Convertible Engines, Control Laws

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and new operational concepts into a vehicle such as MRMAAV must be weighed against the costs of separate dedicated platforms. A major motivation for MRMAAV is the life-cycle cost bene"t of a single common platform for all missions and the associated reduced force structure. Life-cycle costs reductions could then o!set the higher acquisition costs.

References
[1] Rutherford J et al. Technology needs for high-speed rotorcraft. Technical Report NASA CR-177578, April 1991. [2] Rutherford J et al. A concept mission sensitivity study for several medium to high speed V/STOL aircraft. AIAA-91-3096, September 1991. [3] Wolkovitch J. The joined wing: an overview. AIAA-85-0274, 1985. [4] Fradenburgh EA. Wind tunnel tests of variable diameter rotor. In: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Forum, American Helicopter Society, 1992. [5] Scott MW. Technology needs for high-speed rotorcraft (2). Technical Report NASA CR-177 590, August 1991.