The Little Owl is an industry led project to research into a novel method of 'clean' efficient propulsion for an unmanned air system with associated technologies to facilitate extended time-on-station and long endurance.

Bonded composite patches are used to repair corrosion, fatigue and impact damage to airframes due to their superior mechanical integrity characteristics compared with mechanically fastened repairs. Such repairs also reduce aircraft down-time, maintenance labour costs and enable useful life extension. Success of a bonded repair is critically dependent on achieving suitable surface preparation and cure under difficult field conditions. Expanding the scope of patch repairs to primary load bearing structures, requires an added level of assurance where voids/disbonds are below a critical size threshold and that cure conditions result in adequate adhesive shear modulus without high residual stress. We propose to develop a 'smart-patch' system with a reliable, low cost, integrated sensor network that will act as part of a feedback control system for active cure control to optimise both adhesive mechanical properties and minimise residual stress. The sensors will also be used as active transducer elements to enable non-destructive inspection of the patch to with a high probability of detection for voids and disbonds that are equal to or larger than the critical size.

Stirling are currently developing a condition monitoring and predictive maintenance solution for waste infrastructure. This managedsolution will drive financial performance throughminimised downtime.

Full Authority Submarine Control (FASC) is a new concept for submarine steering and diving systems, and combines Stirling’s proven Active Control Technology from the fly-by-wire aircraft industry with extensive experience in producing submarine autopilot and hover control software. This results in an integrated method of control which covers all steering and diving control requirements for the entire speed range of the submarine. Achieving this aim of bringing all the control surfaces together in a single system with full authority over the submarine will be a world first in operation. Stirling’s research into new concepts for submarine platform control has been prompted by a number of factors. Technology ‘push’ factors and industry ‘pull’ factors have now created an environment where the concept could be developed to become a viable production solution. Firstly, it was recognised that accepted issues with conventional methods of steering and diving control could be solved through the deployment of a cohesive control strategy. Secondly, future submarines will be required to operate in an increasing number of ever changing roles through the life of the submarine. Stirling’s customers are now placing requirements for more manoeuvres and operations to be performed under automatic control, in more challenging environments with performance criteria becoming more exacting and wide ranging. Performance requirements are being extended in the areas of setpoint following, disturbance rejection, and minimisation of control effort. Thirdly, there is an increasing desire to reduce through life costs which translate into requirements to minimise integration effort, manning, training and maintenance costs. All these have been combined in the system design approach for FASC. The project aims to develop a concept demonstrator that will enable the control strategy to be proven and provide a real-time environment for customer evaluation that will inform the next stage of development

The overall aim of the SAWoF (Smart Active Wing of the Future) campaign is to establish a full understanding and appreciation of the impact of the flow controlled wing on the evolution of overall aircraft design. The key issues which are addressed by SAWoF are: • What flow control technologies offer the most potential and how should they be deployed and operated on the wings of the future. • What is the impact of the flow controlled wing on overall aircraft design in terms of evolution in configuration and the resulting gains in performance • What are the engineering and manufacturing issues that challenge the practical implementation of the technology?