Design and manufacture of the DEMON unmanned air vehicle demonstrator vehicle

Abstract

This article will describe the design process, final design, and manufacture of the DEMON unmanned air vehicle (UAV) flying demonstrator aircraft. This is one of the main activities of the multi-University FLAVIIR programme. FLAVIIR's aim is to develop technologies that will allow development of future UAVs. It is vital that these technologies be integrated and demonstrated at higher technology readiness levels than are usual in the University sector. One means of achieving this is to use a number of technology demonstrators, culminating in the DEMON demonstrator. A particularly challenging requirement is that the vehicle must demonstrate an entire flight cycle, without the use of conventional flying control surfaces. This article will describe some of the technologies developed by partner Universities, and their integration into DEMON. The vehicle has a novel configuration and uses advanced composite construction in a vehicle some 3 m long and weighing 80 kg. It is powered by a small gas turbine and utilizes sophisticated thrust-vectoring devices. A novel feature is the use of an auxiliary gas turbine that provides compressed air for some of the fluidic control devices. This article gives details of the innovative manufacturing and assembly methods used for the DEMON. The vehicle is expected to fly shortly.