Fehmi Cirak

Modern high-performance combat aircraft exceed conventional flight-envelope limits on maneuverability through the use of thrust vectoring, and so achieve supermaneuverability. With ongoing development of biomimetic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the potential for supermaneuverability through biomimetic mechanisms becomes apparent. So far, this potential has not been well studied: biomimetic UAVs have not yet been shown to be capable of any forms of classical supermaneuverability, as are available to thrust-vectored aircraft. Here we show this capability, by demonstrating how biomimetic morphing-wing UAVs can perform sophisticated slow-timescale nose-pointing-and-shooting (NPAS). Nonlinear flight-dynamics analysis is used to characterize the extent and stability of the multidimensional space of aircraft trim states that arises from biomimetic morphing. Navigating this trim space provides an effective model-based guidance strategy for generating open-loop NPAS maneuvers in simulation. Our results demonstrate the capability of biomimetic aircraft for air combat-relevant supermaneuverability, and provide strategies for the exploration, characterization, and guidance of further forms of classical and nonclassical supermaneuverability in such aircraft.