Identification of military morphing aircraft missions and morphing technology assessment

Morphing as an independent variable is addressed. Potential missions to demonstrate the value of morphing are presented and discussed. The effects of morphing on vehicle kinematics is demonstrated for takeoff, landing, and turn rate. At the system level, the effects of variable lift-to-drag ratio and specific fuel consumption on vehicle weight are examined for cruising flight. An example mission is presented to demonstrate how morphing can be implemented in constraint and sizing analyses, which are at the core of the aircraft conceptual design process. A comparison of morphing and non-morphing aircraft weights is made. It is demonstrated in some cases morphing adds weight due to requiring a structure to complete two missions. The requirement for new structural concepts is briefly discussed.