Benefits Assessment of More Electric Aircraft Generation II Technologies

The Air Force Research Laboratory is currently funding efforts under the More-Electric Aircraft (MEA) Generation II Study for developing a preliminary design of an electrical power generation and distribution system (EPGDS) for flight demonstration of an Internal Starter/Generator (IS/G) for the main engine on an advanced fighter-class aircraft. The MEA Initiative is a phased, goal-oriented, effort that develops technologies to enable the use of electrical power to perform aircraft functions that historically have been powered hydraulically, mechanically, or pneumatically. The use of electrical power for these functions has the potential for enhanced aircraft performance through improved efficiency, reliability, maintainability, and supportability. Today, the MEA effort is in its second phase, with an anticipated technology availability date of 2005. The MEA Generation II Study was initiated to help focus technology development efforts that maximize benefits at the aircraft level by using MEA concepts. The objectives of the study are to (1) address aircraft-level system integration requirements and benefits, and (2) use overall system architecture requirements as a basis for identifying and addressing technology needs for the critical components.