The Recoverable Test Vehicle
Clearly there is a need to improve efficiency and effectiveness
in tlie weapon system development process.
Achieving such improvements is the principal objective of
the Navy's RTV being developed under contract by the
Boeing Aerospace Company. The RTV is an aerodynamically
efficient glide vehicle to be used as a flight test-bed for
evaluating weapon components and concepts. The vehicle
will be configured with a research interior and appropriate
interfaces to enable weapon system components to he integrated
and subjected to real-time flight dynamics. At the
conclusion of the test flight the vehicle will deploy a recovery
parachute for "soft-recovery" of tlie vehicle and its
payload to facilitate post-flight payload data collection and
performance analysis. The recovery technique will permit
both tlie vehicle and prototype hardware being tested to he
reused, thereby, producing major development and test cost
savings.
The RTV itself will be flight-worthy and certified for
captive carry and ejection from tactical aircraft. Since it will
enclose developmental hardware and associated software, the
components being evaluated will not need to be flight certified.
Brassboard hardware can be taken from tlie laboratory
and, with little effort, be integrated into the RTV, flown, and
evaluated in environments representative of the intended
operational mission. The RTV will provide sufficient interior
space to permit side-by-side evaluation of competing
components under identical flight conditions.
The RTV will be operated by the Naval Weapons Center
(NWC), China Lake, California.
Recoverable test vehicle - An innovative approach to risk reduction
M. BARTLETT, U.S. Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, Washington, DC
Chapter DOI: 10.2514/6.1988-524
Publication Date: 11 January 1988 - 14 January 1988