Conformal Fuel Tanks to Give Super Hornet Longer Legs & Extend Navy’s Force Projection

Top view of Conformal Fuel Tanks on F/A-18F Super Hornet

I independently evaluated these performance predictions for public release and provided them to program managers & stakeholders.

Conformal Fuel Tanks installed on top of fuselage and wing of F/A-18F Super Hornet

F/A-18F Super Hornet without Conformal Fuel Tanks installed

Since 2015, I have played an instrumental role as a technical counselor to the program office that managed the acquisition of the Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs) designed for F/A-18E/F and EA-18G tactical aircraft. I was responsible for producing the Navy’s trade studies for the conceptual and production designs of these unique fuel tanks.

I supported all low- and high-speed wind tunnel efforts, including test requirement and matrix development, on-site data acquisition at NASA Ames and the Boeing Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing Wind Tunnel (BVWT), and post-test data reduction using the MATLAB based tool described previously. 

Since the main goal of these fuel tanks was to increase aircraft range and endurance, my analyses were considered vital in allowing program managers and stakeholders to make acquisition decisions on this program.