Conceptual design and analysis of a tube-launched fixed-Wing UAV with integrated folding wing systems

• Foldable fixed-wing mini-UAV designed for ISR missions in harsh environments. • Compares and adapts manned-aircraft design methodologies for designing a small electric UAV platform. • Combines fixed-wing endurance with rotary-wing portability and easy deployment, based on existent operational launching systems. • 3D-printed prototype enables design feasibility and kinematics studies and helps evaluate the folding mechanism. • Future work includes CFD, FEA, and thermal analyses for design refinement. This study presents the design and analysis of a foldable fixed-wing mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in harsh environments. The work addresses the gap in small electric UAV research by adapting conceptual and preliminary design methodologies typically used for manned aircraft to small-scale platforms. Aerodynamic performance and subsystem selections were analyzed to identify the implications of downscaling conventional design approaches. Rapid-prototype models incorporating 3D-printed components were fabricated to evaluate structural feasibility within compact size constraints. The resulting configuration combines the endurance and range advantages of fixed-wing UAVs with the portability and ease of deployment commonly associated with rotary-wing systems. The findings demonstrate that foldable-wing integration can enhance field deployability without significant aerodynamic penalties, supporting future development of compact fixed-wing UAVs for extended ISR operations.