An Integrated Computational/Experimental Approach to UCAV Stability & Control Estimation: Overview of NATO RTO AVT-161

A comprehensive research program designed to investigate the ability of computational methods to predict stability and control characteristics of realistic flight vehicles has been undertaken. The integrated approach to simulating static and dynamic stability characteristics for a generic UCAV and the X-31 configuration was performed by NATO RTO Task Group AVT-161. The UCAV, named SACCON (Stability and Control Configuration), and the X-31 are the subject of an intensive computational and experimental study. The stability characteristics of the vehicles are being evaluated via a highly integrated approach, where CFD and experimental results are being used in a parallel and collaborative fashion. The results show that computational methods have made great strides in predicting static and dynamic stability charactersitics, but several key issues need to be resolved before efficient, affordable, and reliable predictions are available.

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