Thread by @PeppePilota

looking back at some BAE's concepts for internal bays some pop up a, so I'll make a little thread, some of the most interesting one are from the pre-Tempest era (around 2015) and very similar to one of the rotating one here proposed

1/N

However to properly start off a little background would help, in fact in 2018 BAE Systems was testing their concept of flexible bay door. TIt uses the bay more like a simpler thub in the fuselage to allow for multiple connections and different installations
2/N

It is hard to tell if this is still considered for the future of the GCAP, but at the time of Tempest, looking back, it shared many similarities, for example:
3/N

In one of the public availble slides the tempest was shown to have a "flexible payload configuration", with a bit of speculation one could assume that the bottom image shows a similar integration of fuel tanks as in the proposed flexible bay and maybe more 4/N

However the side conformal pods confused me a bit, but after some digging, and again with a very generous dose of speculation, it reminded me a lot of this patent from BAE a few years prior (2015), proposing some comformal lightweight covers coated in RAM to keep the RCS low 5/N

To be more precise those covers are suggested to reduce the observability of LO aircrafts wheter it is not possible to carry some payloads in the bay (which may be the case with future BAE long range systems like the FC/ASW or the Japanese ASM-3)

5/Nworldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?…

Another interesting proposal coming about of the same time were "rotating bays" (also poposed in the flexible bay concept), here are shown 3/4 types of uses.
to switch sensors (such as cameras /IR sensors)or totally hide them to reduce the signature
6/N

Or for missile, reconnecting to what prompted me to write this, such as a rotating bay fed by a rotating drum, or to a less interesting swinging door for missiles .
for whom may be interested
7/N worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?…

This bring us to more modern concepts by BAE, that makes it more likely to appear on a future demonstrator/GCAP, it remain instereating that some retain certain similarities to some of those old proposals 8/N

A little later in 2018 (but published in 2021) se may see that the idea of rotating doors and rotating missile drums was still strong ! now adding one more movement and more details (the missile also appear to bea meteor with cropped fins as the ones needed for the F-35)
9/N

I wont be discussing it much as it would take too long, but not only highlights a continuity but also refinement of the concept over time

10/Nworldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?…

fast forward we come to the 2020s, and we find 2 interesing patents a simpler design and again a rotating bay proposal, suggesting that the concept (maybe)hasn't been abandoned, first of the simple one
11/N

Here BAE proposes a simpler bay , but instead of the more usual one where the bays stay open into the wind those swing inside and as they put it *should* simplify land operations due to the lower space taken and can't interfere with the landing gear
12/N

reducing drag while open(doubt it would be really a significative reduction) aerodinamic load and lateral instability comapred to a more conventional design (I wont go furhter due to time cosntraints) here shown with 2 meteors and SPEAR 3 (?) more:

13/N worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?…

and lastly we retunr to the so loved (by BAE at least it seems) rotating bay, it is the most recent one, being published in 2022, showing that the concept (maybe) is still alive. However there is a twist, it is the comeback of mdular fuel tanks in such bays
14/N

This time it calls for the use of flexible fuel tanks, here called bladders, here it calls for the use of such bladders as means for increase fuel capacity in the non fighting part of mission: using rotating bays to keep the sensors out when the bladder is in use
15/N

And once emptied (trough means that equilizes the pressure to reduce it's size) flipping the rotating bay and get under cover the sensor (or missiles).
more here:
16/17 worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?…

END
I may be repetitive, but this prolonged continuation of the concept highlights that it can be very well alive, and maybe, in a pretty good spot to be used on GCAP.

Thanks for the attention if you have come all the way here to the end, and sorry for the long thread.

17/17