A DESCRIPTION OF THE F/A-18E/F DESIGN AND DESIGN PROCESS

This paper describes the design and the design process used to develop the F/A-18E/F aircraft. It is presented here to document the state-of-the art of the design process for development of a modern high performance fighter aircraft. It is intended that this information will provide a background for researchers developing Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) processes for aircraft design. The design process itself was an advance for the F/A-18E/F in that it marked the first application of the Integrated Product Development (IPD) design process to an Engineering Manufacturing Development (EMD) program at the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Since the F/A-18E/F's flight test program is well under way, results are available by which to judge the success of this design and the design process. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations for additional work to improve the design process are made.