FEASIBILITY OF UAV AIRFOIL & CONTROL SURFACE MANUFACTURING USING CONTINUOUS MANUFACTURING MACHINES

CONTRACTOR WILL EXAMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF UTILIZING PULTRUSION-TYPE CONTINUOUS TAPE LAYING MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT TO FABRICATE COMPOSITE SANDWICH STRUCTURE WINGS AND STABILIZERS FOR CLOSE RANGE AND SHORT RANGE CLASS UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES. DURING PHASE I A SMALL PROOF-OF-CONCEPT MANUFACTURING MACHINE WILL BE DESIGNED, BUILT, AND EVALUATED. IN ADDITION, THE QUALITY OF THE MANUFACTURED PRODUCT FROM THE TEST MACHINE WILL BE EVALUATED. A FEASIBILITY REPORT WILL BE PREPARED. THE PROPOSED OUTCOME FOR PHASE I IS AN EVALUATION OF THE NOVEL MANUFACTURING MACHINE, AND OF THE RESULTING UAV WING MATERIAL. IN ADDITION, IF THE DEVELOPMENT IS PROMISING, A PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR A FULL-SCALE MACHINE WILL BE PREPARED. FURTHER APPLICATIONS, COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT, INCLUDE THE FULL RANGE OF UAV PLATFORMS CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND IN OPERATION.