Conceptual Design of Low-Signature High-Endurance Hybrid-Electric UAV

Abstract

The results of this investigation show the feasibility of designing a hybrid-electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has low acoustic/visual signature and extended cruise flight endurance. The conceptual design is based on a small internal combustion engine that powers the cruise portion of the flight and an electric motor for loiter/intelligence,surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) portions. Relatively minor reductions in loiter mission duration produce a substantial increase in range. A decrease of 1 whr in the electric (loiter) energy onboard produces a gain of 13.3 whr in the gasoline (cruise) energy. These hybrid aircraft would allow extended range search-loiter-search missions, which are not possible with the existing electric UAVs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2011
Accession Number
AD1123885

Entities

People

  • Jenya Macheret
  • Jeremy Teichman
  • Robert Kraig

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Signatures
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Aspect Ratio
  • Combustion
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Electric Motors
  • Engines
  • Fuels
  • Internal Combustion Engines
  • Materials
  • Motors
  • Optical Phenomena
  • Optical Properties
  • Optics
  • Propulsion Systems
  • Target Acquisition
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Electrical Engineering

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs