Computations and validations of aerodynamics for loitering vehicles with non-circular cross sections

High lift-to-drag ratio is important to increase the gliding range and endurance for a loitering vehicle, so a non-circular cross body is chosen for its better aerodynamic performance compared to equi-volume missiles with circular bodies. In order to validate the conceptual design, numerical simulation should be done firstly to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of the non-circular cross section body and body-wing-tail combination. The calculation results show that the aerodynamics of loitering vehicle satisfies the design demand, and the maxim lift-to-drag ratio is up to 10. Based on aerodynamic calculations, a suit of wind tunnel experiment models are designed and wind tunnel tests are conducted, the results of wind tunnel test have a good agreement with the simulation. The results also reveal that the loitering vehicle has good longitudinal, yawing and rolling static stability.