Extendable Loitering Wing (ELW)

Key challenges for long endurance weapons such as Aerial Dominator include structural and packaging design for very high aspect ratio wings. Trade studies have defined a requirement for deployable wings which are far too long for the conventional solution of simply pivoting outward from the wing root. KCI proposes to develop an alternative wing design that can roughly double the span of the deployed wing compared to the conventional pivoting solution. Three different design implementations of ELW shall be developed. Detail layout, design and structural analysis of each concept shall be performed to identify practical issues which must be addressed for functional implementation including storage, deployment, sustained cruise, maneuvering and high speed dash. Detailed cost and weight estimates shall be prepared to downselect the most promising design. Three prototype ELW systems shall be produced and tested including structural loading, deployment reliability and deployment under realistic airloads. Weight and low unit cost at high production rates is another important characteristic for a successful ELW. All ELW designs described are made from high performance composite materials using the pultrusion process. Pultrusion is fully automated and produces the lowest cost structural composites on a per-pound or per-foot basis.