Recently, the team of Huang Jiangtao from the China Academy of Aerodynamics Research and Development published a revolutionary paper in the "Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica," revealing a software system that completely changes the design rules of stealth aircraft. The system optimizes 740 variables simultaneously, breaking through technical barriers that were previously considered impossible. This breakthrough has overcome the long-standing "dimensional curse" that has troubled the global aviation industry, giving China a crushing advantage in the efficiency of developing stealth platforms.

For a long time, the design of stealth aircraft has faced an almost unsolvable problem: the "dimensional curse." When designers attempt to increase optimization variables to improve aircraft performance, the computational complexity explodes exponentially.

Traditional optimization methods struggle when there are more than dozens of variables. Modern stealth fighters involve hundreds of key parameters such as aerodynamics, stealth, and structure, making the design process like exploring a dark maze.

The software solution released by Huang Jiangtao's team has broken this curse once and for all.

Its core innovation lies in proposing a "geometric sensitivity calculation method based on impedance boundary conditions." This technology achieved two disruptive breakthroughs:

The computational cost of gradient calculation for design variables is completely decoupled from the number of variables.

For the first time, it achieves precise calculation of radar cross-section (RCS) surface sensitivity when only part of the coating is applied with radar-absorbing materials.

"Gradient verification shows that the gradient calculation method based on surface sensitivity is in good agreement with the finite difference method, with extremely high precision," the paper states.

This means that designers can freely manipulate 740 or even more variables, and the system will still provide real-time feedback on the optimization direction. However, the consumption of computing resources does not significantly increase, completely freeing itself from the traditional dilemma of "adding variables requires adding computing power."

The research team used the U.S. Navy's X-47B stealth drone as a test case to verify the system's powerful performance. This advanced aircraft, which had failed due to the inability to balance stealth and aerodynamic performance, has found new life under the Chinese algorithm.

The optimization results showed significant reduction in flight resistance; a substantial decrease in radar cross-section (RCS);

An increase in the total pressure recovery coefficient of the engine; increased curvature of the inlet while maintaining good airflow performance;

"The optimized RCS reduction effect is significant, and the initial inlet's good total pressure recovery and distortion performance are maintained," Huang Jiangtao's team emphasized in the paper.

Especially noteworthy is that the system creatively solved the integration problem of radar-absorbing materials. Through unified field modeling technology, the characteristics of radar-absorbing materials are directly integrated into the aerodynamic sensitivity equations, achieving "electromagnetic-fluid" dual-field coupled optimization.

At the same time, the "electromagnetic field demultiplexing" technology compresses trillions of calculations into manageable matrix operations, greatly saving computing resources.

This breakthrough's practical value goes beyond the technology itself. With global defense budgets surging, R&D efficiency has become a core indicator in the competition among major powers.

Huang Jiangtao's team explicitly stated in the paper that the software will "provide key technological support for the design of low-observability aircraft." Its significance is reflected in three levels:

Time compression: Design cycles have been shortened from years to months; Cost reduction: Avoiding the exorbitant trial-and-error costs of the U.S. X-47B; Performance leap: Achieving global optimal comprehensive performance of aerodynamics and stealth;

Especially when the U.S. "Next Generation Air Dominance" (NGAD) fighter project is facing budget difficulties, this breakthrough by China carries greater strategic significance.

At the same time, since the end of last year, Chengdu and Shenyang in China have successively revealed two new stealth fighter prototypes in flight tests. Combined with this software breakthrough, China's sixth-generation fighter development has formed a dual advantage of "methodology + engineering practice."

Ironically, the X-47B selected by Huang Jiangtao's team as a case study is precisely a symbol of the U.S. failure in the field of stealth drones. It was abandoned in 2015 due to its inability to solve the "stealth-aerodynamics-thrust" paradox; the same technical dilemma is still hindering the U.S. sixth-generation fighter program.

Although Trump announced in March that Boeing would produce a sixth-generation fighter named F-47, the project has already shown signs of delay. NGAD's director said in June: "We have not yet found a disruptive cost control solution."

Meanwhile, the Chinese team specifically emphasized in the paper: "It did not rely on the stacking of original computing power." Through intelligent algorithm design similar to DeepSeek, the optimization efficiency that even American supercomputers find difficult to achieve was realized on ordinary computing clusters.

While American engineers are still wandering in the maze of the dimensional curse, China has already grasped the key to open up a new dimension.

The turning point in the global competition for stealth aviation is quietly shifting from traditional fields such as engine thrust and material technology to a new battlefield of intelligent design algorithms.

The concluding statement of Huang Jiangtao's team's paper is profound: "Provide key technical support for the development of low-observability aircraft." And this support may be reshaping the balance of power over the Pacific Ocean.



Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533146888715928127/

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