Initial Study on RCS and Aerodynamic Characteristics relative to the Shape of Airfoil

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) becomes gradually important. Especially in the future warfare, operation of UAVs is a key role for victory. In order to make the UAV undetected by an enemy radar and fly efficiently, two essential factors need to be considered. The first factor is radar cross section (RCS), which is a measure of how detectable a UAV by an enemy radar. A larger RCS indicates that the UAV is more easily detected from the enemy radar. The another factor is a lift-to-drag ratio, which is used for analysis aerodynamic efficiency of the UAV. In this study, we calculate the RCS using several equations and obtain the lift-to-drag ratio by conducting wind tunnel test. We expected that stealth ability and flight efficiency of the UAV are closely connected curvature the front area of airfoil. Therefore, the calculated RCS and the obtained lift-to-drag ratio are relative to the shape of airfoil. Finally, we find the most suitable shape of airfoil by considering both the RCS and aerodynamic characteristics.