Improved VTOL UAV Shipboard Suitability by Autonomous Deck Recovery Operations

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility to automatically signal the initiation of UAV descent in a marine environment. The objective is to recover the UAV on-board a moving vessel within reasonable safety margins regardless of the seaway. Aircraft and flight deck availability calculations and improvements using Dynamic Interface (DI) flight simulators ahead of sea trials, are developed. The study, conducted in real-time, uses simulation techniques to represent several manned and unmanned VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) air vehicles landing on ships. Undercarriage deflection to encountered deck forces and aircraft stability were calculated with impacts on the proposed deck limits discussed and percentage of improvement for operational availability demonstrated. The use of flight simulator to forecast physical deck motion and deck motion limits, is discussed. A brief synopsis of the theory and calculation of the ship motion simulation and Energy Index programs are discussed. The Energy Index identifies quiescent periods to initiate aircraft descent based on aircraft deck limit definitions. Dynamic Interface simulation provides the physical information from which initial deck limits might be derived. Using Launch and Recovery “rondelles”, the deck limits at specific ship’s speeds may be identified. The results of this study are being applied to the realm of Simulation Based Design and Virtual Prototyping, potentially leading to NATO wide standards. The simulated flight test has five essential objectives: assess the capabilities of simulators to support or conduct helicopter-ship operational limits; demonstrate High Level Architecture (HLA) federation; evaluate recovery safety improvements offered by experimental systems, such as the LPD; and determine feasibility of applying these simulators in support of dynamic interface at sea testing.