A Systems Approach to the Conceptual Design of a Vertical Take-Off Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle

Recent renewed interest in UAV's has largely focused on fixed wing UAV's with the exception of programs such as the Vigilante, Cypher, and RQ-8A Fire Scout. However recent VT-UAVs have been primarily designed as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms with no integrated combat capabilities. This capability deficiency has driven the Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for Aerospace Design Technology to investigate the conceptual design of a VT-UCAV dubbed "Orca". This conceptual design process was based on a systems approach which focused on mission analysis, design requirements and payload. Whilst the conceptual design of "Orca" needs to be further investigated for detailed design. The computational format developed for the iterative design process allows the design to be modified and updated easily. This computational format can be further developed for follow-on.