Conceptual Assessment of the Possibility of Using Cryogenic Fuel on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

The study is devoted to the creation of modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the most efficient from economic and environmental points of view. In connection with the vital need to switch to environmentally friendly vehicles, this research analyzes the possibility of using a cryogenic fuel (CF) for UAVs with piston or gas turbine engines. The numerical studies’ analyses of the takeoff weight of the currently widely used UAV MQ-9 Reaper show the practical impossibility of using liquefied hydrogen and the low efficiency of using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel for similar UAV with takeoff weight up to 5 tons.