Department Military Aircraft
WTD61
The Military Aircraft Department is located on the premises of the Defence Technology Centre 61 in Manching near Ingolstadt. The department deals with qualification, certification and flight testing issues for manned and unmanned military aircraft as part of projects for the Bundeswehr. Defence technology research projects support the development, expansion and maintenance of analysis and evaluation expertise to support the official side of current military aviation projects.
The work focuses on the areas of flight mechanics, flight control, assistance systems, air data and specialised military areas such as load dropping, aerial refuelling and operations on unpaved runways. Particular emphasis is placed on aligning research work with the needs of the customer and, within the scope of contract work, ensuring continuous monitoring of issues from the early concept phases of new aircraft through to phases of later improvements to established systems.
In this context, the Military Aircraft department works closely with the other departments of the institute and also across institutes in order to provide the broadest possible multidisciplinary expertise.
Handling Qualities and Human Factors
The close, application-orientated exchange with the Bundeswehr test pilots available on site leads to the generation of high-quality results. New ideas and concepts can thus be discussed and trialled at a very early stage. This is particularly true in the areas of handling qualities and human factors, where the interaction between man and machine takes centre stage and individual preferences and characteristics of the pilot can lead to a wide range of results.
Reference measurement technology for flight testing
The department develops miniaturised measurement systems for flight data acquisition. These offer the possibility of non-invasive instrumentation of aircraft and enable data sovereignty to be maintained through manufacturer-independent measurement. All work processes, from conceptualisation and hardware and software development to integration and testing, are carried out by the department itself, thus enabling flexible adaptation to specific application scenarios. Areas of application for the miniaturised reference measurement technology include automated paraglider load systems, tactical drones, transport drones and even air taxis or future unmanned aerial vehicles.
Certification and qualification
In addition to research, supporting ministries is also one of DLR's statutory tasks. To promote direct exchange, cooperation agreements exist with both the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) and the Bundeswehr Aviation Office (LufABw). The Military Aircraft Department supports the Bundeswehr in international working groups as part of projects such as A400M, Eurofighter, Heron TP, EuroMALE and other future military aviation programmes. This concerns both aspects of qualification (fulfilment of the aircraft manufacturer's contract with the Bundeswehr as the client) and certification (flight safety). In order to create a close link between the activities of the Military Aircraft Department and training at universities, theses are regularly offered via the DLR job portal. Unsolicited applications can be sent at any time to the contact details below.
In addition to on-site student support, the topic of experimental flight testing is introduced to interested students in a two-semester lecture at the TU Berlin.