Document Type
Paper
Abstract
In response to the 2021 AIAA Undergraduate Team Aircraft Design Competition request for proposals, the Manned Aerial Vehicles for Escort and Rapid Incursion of Close Combat (MAVERICC) Team from the University of Alabama in Huntsville is developing a design for an affordable light attack aircraft that can operate from short, austere fields and replace current helicopters in performing close air support missions. The aircraft must accommodate a crew of two. Additional design goals include enhanced survivability and the ability for deploying a variety of weapons including an integrated gun for ground targets. The aircraft must accomplish an attack mission with a full weapons load and a long-range ferry mission with a 60% weapons load. The current concept is a twin-boom design with dual Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop engines mounted on the rectangular high wing. The innovative armament package includes a 20mm gun integrated in the nose, a swivel-mounted 30mm chain gun in the aft fuselage between the tail booms, and a combination of rockets, missiles, and small diameter bombs externally mounted on wing hardpoints. An integrated countermeasures dispenser system provides enhanced survivability. The current aircraft design weighs 15,000 lbf with the crew and with a full load of weapons and fuel. Analyses and trade studies are in progress to finalize the aircraft’s dimensions and overall weight, estimate flight performance, and perform an analysis of recurring, acquisition, and operating costs.
MAVERICC Conceptual Design Review
In response to the 2021 AIAA Undergraduate Team Aircraft Design Competition request for proposals, the Manned Aerial Vehicles for Escort and Rapid Incursion of Close Combat (MAVERICC) Team from the University of Alabama in Huntsville is developing a design for an affordable light attack aircraft that can operate from short, austere fields and replace current helicopters in performing close air support missions. The aircraft must accommodate a crew of two. Additional design goals include enhanced survivability and the ability for deploying a variety of weapons including an integrated gun for ground targets. The aircraft must accomplish an attack mission with a full weapons load and a long-range ferry mission with a 60% weapons load. The current concept is a twin-boom design with dual Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop engines mounted on the rectangular high wing. The innovative armament package includes a 20mm gun integrated in the nose, a swivel-mounted 30mm chain gun in the aft fuselage between the tail booms, and a combination of rockets, missiles, and small diameter bombs externally mounted on wing hardpoints. An integrated countermeasures dispenser system provides enhanced survivability. The current aircraft design weighs 15,000 lbf with the crew and with a full load of weapons and fuel. Analyses and trade studies are in progress to finalize the aircraft’s dimensions and overall weight, estimate flight performance, and perform an analysis of recurring, acquisition, and operating costs.
