GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Raytheon is working on adaptive wing technology that would allow a cruise missile to dash to its target at high speed, loiter to see if it has been destroyed and, if so, move on to another target. A prototype will be windtunnel-tested in 2005 under a $4.1 million contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Morphing Aircraft Structures programme.
An adaptive wing capable of changing its area, span and chord by up to 50% would enable design of a cruise missile able to fly at speeds ranging from Mach 0.3 to 3.0. "Morphing capability applied to a missile would enable efficient flight at multiple speeds and altitudes without sacrificing performance," says Raytheon programme manager Donald Uhlir. Morphing would allow a single missile to perform multiple missions or the same mission more effectively, he says.
While Raytheon is basing its design on a Tomahawk cruise-missile fuselage, Hypercomp/NextGen is applying adaptive wing technology to a Ryan Firebee drone and Lockheed Martin is working with a small unmanned air vehicle. All three were awarded contracts under the Morphing Aircraft Structures programme earlier this year.
Source: Flight International
