Analysis and Optimization of the Wide-Speed-Range Aerodynamic Characteristics of SR-72-like Vehicles

Recently, the United States unveiled a conceptual design of an unmanned high-speed vehicle, the SR-72, which boasts a maximum flight speed of Mach 6, enabling rapid airspace dominance and superior combat performance. To this end, this study conducted a comprehensive review of publicly available data and employed 3D modeling software to reconstruct the SR-72 configuration, utilizing the supersonic thin airfoil NACA 16006 for the wing design. Subsequently, a meticulously structured computational mesh was generated. Numerical simulations were conducted across subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and high-Mach-number flow regimes. The results reveal that the vehicle exhibits high maneuverability in subsonic conditions, with a stall angle of attack reaching 24°. In transonic conditions, significant wave drag is observed, while, in supersonic and high-Mach-number flow regimes at Mach 6, the vehicle demonstrates excellent wave-riding performance, enabling extended cruise durations and improved fuel efficiency. Furthermore, the initial airfoil was optimized using the CST (Class-Shape Transformation) parameterization method and the SLSQP (Sequential Least Squares Programming) algorithm. Under the given constraints, the drag coefficient was reduced by 40%, demonstrating a significant optimization effect.