STOVL Propulsion System Selections Effect on Aircraft Design

This paper examines the effect of vertical landing propulsion system decisions on the optimum design for a multimission STOVL (short take-off and vertical landing) Strike Fighter aircraft. Advances in propulsion have opened the design space for STOVL aircraft. The optimum design is dependent on the propulsion system selected for vertical operations. Unlike past studies the primary engine can be sized by up-and-away aircraft performance rather than vertical landing operations for the three different STOVL propulsion systems examined.