Lapcat II : towards a Mach 8 civil aircraft concept , using advanced Rocket/Dual-mode ramjet propulsion system

As a partner of EU-funded LAPCAT-II project, devoted to high-speed propulsion technologies, Onera is involved in a concurrent system study that aims at designing a Mach 8 civil aircraft concept on the Brussels-Sydney route. The proposed Onera concept, based on a previous high speed propulsion French program (PREPHA), resulted in a 100 m / 900 tons concept, using a rocket/DMR propulsion system. After introducing the frame of this study, design process, trade studies, trajectory results and CAD views of shape and layout are presented in this paper, as well as the on-going work aiming at designing a TBCC PREPHAbased concept, in cooperation with other LAPCAT-II partners (Universite Libre de Bruxelles and University of Rome).