Low Stored Volume Deployable Wings for High Altitude Aircraft

Of great interest and strategic advantage to the military is the rapid deployment of surveillance assets to monitor a point of interest or quickly changing situation. An ideal solution would be a rocket deployed unmanned air vehicle (UAV) able to be accurately positioned and then capable of long endurance over the point of interest to relay critical information. This technology hinges on packaging a highly efficient flight vehicle within the confines of a small shroud, and reliably deploying the vehicle over the target. For long endurance this vehicle must have high aspect ratio wings to achieve the high lift to drag ratios required for efficient high altitude long duration flight. Inflatables have long enjoyed the advantages of flexible packageability and robust deployment. Recently, through advances in design and materials, these advantages can be focused on the needs of deployable flight vehicles. The use of inflatables in space, for the above advantages, has received much attention and L’Garde intends to bring that expertise and development to the area of deployable flight vehicles. Using our patented conical deployment technique for booms to sequentially and reliably deploy wing sections, and advanced materials technology to allow high strength high aspect ratio wings, we intend to develop a system design to meet the challenges of rapid deployment of long duration air vehicles.