High-Frequency Excitation Active Flow Control for High-Speed Weapon Release (HIFEX)

Traditional weapon release from bays uses a spoiler for modifying the bay shear layer to reduce acoustic levels within the bay and to enhance the characteristics of weapon separation. However, for high-speed weapon release (free stream Mach numbers between 2 and 4), passive devices such as spoilers do not provide a robust means of achieving safe weapon dispense. To address this problem The Boeing Company, under funding from the DARPA Micro Adaptive Flow Control Program, has developed an active flow control approach for high-speed weapon dispense from a bay. Boeing is currently working on preparation for the full-scale demonstration of the concept at the Holloman AFB High-Speed Test Track. This paper reviews the various elements of the HIFEX program performed over the past two years using wind tunnel testing at Mach 2.5 and concludes with plans for the full-scale flow control evaluation in 2005.