Possible Solution for USAF Materiel Command Requirement for a 75 Ton Payload .8 Mach Cruise Global Freighter with Un-refueled Round the World Range

摘要

In the 1995 Science Advisory Board (SAB) New World Vistas study, the USAF Air Materiel Command expressed the need for a Global Freighter capable of transporting a 75 ton payload halfway (12,000 statute miles) around the world and return un-refuded. The USAF 2010 Technology Horizons report also noted a need for development of a low drag hybrid wing/body (HWB) type transport for enhanced fuel-efficient service. The following work describes a possible answer. This solution requires the use of an advanced HWB composite aircraft coupled to a propulsion system equipped with Advanced Variable Cycle Diesel (AVCD) 2-stroke engines driving multiple sets of counter rotating high Mach NASA-type propellers. It also requires the use of unorthodox air frame modifications between the outbound and return flights.