Supersonic drag reduction technology in the scaled supersonic experimental airplane project by JAXA

Anticipating the international cooperative development of a next generation supersonic transport (SST), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has developed an advanced drag reduction technique as one of the key technologies that will be required. JAXA's technique is based on an aerodynamically optimum combination of well-known pressure drag reduction concepts and a new friction drag reduction concept. The pressure drag reduction concepts are mainly grounded in supersonic linear theory and involve the application of an arrow planform, a warped wing with optimum camber and twist, and an area-ruled body. The friction drag reduction concept is a world-first technical approach that obtains a natural laminar flow wing with a subsonic leading edge at supersonic speed. An ideal pressure distribution is first designed to delay boundary layer transition even on a highly swept wing, then an original CFD-based inverse design method is applied to obtain a wing shape that realizes the pressure distribution. An unmanned and scaled supersonic experimental airplane was flown at the Woomera test field in Australia in October 2005 to prove those concepts. Flight data analysis and comparison of flight data with CFD design data validated the drag reduction technique both qualitatively and quantitatively.