NASA Supersonic STOVL Propulsion Technology Program

Supersonic capable STOVL fighter/attack aircraft can provide capabilities for close support and air superiority which will be highly desirable in the future. Previous papers in this session described the historical aspects, tradeoffs, and requirements for powered lift propulsion systems, and it is shown that propulsion technology is more key to the success of this type of aircraft than for any previous fighter/attack aircraft. This paper discusses the NASA Lewis Research Center program activities which address required propulsion technology development. Several elements of this program have been initiated which address hot gas ingestion and ejector augmenter performance and some preliminary results are shown. In addition, some additional near-term research activity plans and the new Powered Lift Facility (PLF) research capability are presented.