X-36 Combat Tiger
The X-36 program is meant to explore the opportunities offered by the UAV concept.
UAV's, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, are, in more common words, aircraft that fly without having a pilot onboard.
The advantages are plenty, starting from smaller sizes, lighter weight, due to the elimination of the life support systems and higher maneuvrability, to lower cost and cheaper maintenance.
The X-36 is a tailless UAV. It has an advantage towards other similar aircraft thanks to reduced drag, longer range and higher speed. This model aircraft, built on a 1:4 scale, has been thru a 6 months testing program in the late 90's. At a cost of 20 million dollars, the X-36 is a true pioneer among the future UAV and UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle) programs.
X-36 also has a higher maneuvrability than a standard jet fighter, not only due to its reduced drag, but also thanks to the fact that it has independent ailerons. In a normal airplane, the airlerons move in opposite directions; if one of them moves down, the other automatically moves up, and vice-versa. But in the X-36, the computer flight system can actually allow the ailerons to move independent of one another, thus creating an interesting novelty in combat aircraft.
The X-36 page is still under construction by Sorin A. Crasmarelu
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