Trade Studies Relating to a Long Range Mach 2.6 Supercruiser

A systems study was conducted on an aircraft concept, representative of a supersonic-cruise military aircraft (supercruiser). The study results indicate that supersonic ranges in excess of 4000 n.mi. at a Mach number of 2.62 are possible with a 500 lbf class aircraft. Trade studies, to determine the sensitivity of supersonic range to parameters which would improve maneuverability, indicate that thrust-weight ratios of as much as 0.5 can be used without significantly decreasing supersonic range; however, increasing the thrust-weight ratio to 1.0 decreases the range capability by about 1100 n.mi. The range penalty for increasing the aircraft limit load-factor from 4.0 to 9.0 is about 500 n.mi. The increased fuel volume of several configurations improved the supersonic range capability by about 1200 n.mi. but, due to associated losses in supersonic L/D, had an insignificant effect on the range at a Mach number of 2.62.