An Adaptive Aerodynamic Control System (AACS) for a Low-Cost Destructive Expendable (DEX)

The U.S. Air Force is developing a Destructive Expendable (DEX) countermeasure (CM) defense system to protect aircraft from anti-aircraft missiles. In this Phase II program, Orbital Research Inc. will design, develop and demonstrate a highly maneuverable and commercially viable DEX system that couples a mission optimized vehicle with an innovative Adaptive Aerodynamic Control System (AACS) that leverages adaptive fins and novel active flow control technology to enable superior performance. These aerodynamic solutions will make DEX applicable to a wide variety of platforms and will further be form compatible with existing AN/ALE-40/47 countermeasure dispensers. The proposed development effort will include static and dynamic wind tunnel investigations, aerodynamic prediction studies using Missile DATCOM, and 6-DOF simulations of DEX flight trajectories under different threat scenarios to fully assess the performance and flight capabilities of the proposed AACS-DEX. During the Phase II, Orbital Research Inc. will develop and demonstrate the performance and feasibility of the innovative Adaptive Aerodynamic Control System based DEX that will assure enhanced safety and self-protection for aircraft against a wide spectrum of anti-aircraft missile threats. The Phase II program will pave the way for a Phase III free-flight validation and verification of DEX performance by generating critical aerodynamic data and optimizing the aerodynamic control system.