Near belly-tangent pod system for an aircraft

摘要

A pod system for an aircraft is disclosed. Embodiments provide an external, near belly-tangent modular plug-and-play pod system that includes a scalable set of left-side bays which are connected to a scalable set of right-side bays via a central compartment positioned on a bottom external surface of the aircraft's fuselage. The bays accommodate removable slide trays which have various equipment (for example, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment) mounted thereon. The bays and slide trays combination allow for quick removal, insertion, and connection of the various mounted equipment to IP-based connectivity, power, and foundation signals from the aircraft. In an embodiment, the left-side bays, right-side bays, and central compartment each have a planar bottom surface which are substantially equiplanar so that inserted and connected mounted equipment extending downward and externally from the bays from the planar bottom surface have 360 degree unobstructed views.

主权项

1. A pod system for an aircraft, the pod system comprising:
at least one left-side bay configured for external placement on a left side of a fuselage of an aircraft and having an external side panel; at least one right-side bay configured for external placement on a right side of the fuselage of the aircraft and having an external side panel; and a central compartment configured for external placement on a bottom surface of the fuselage of the aircraft and extending between the at least one left-side bay and the at least one right-side bay; wherein a distance between the external side panel of the left-side bay and the external side panel of the right-side bay is configured to be greater than a largest width of a portion of the fuselage of the aircraft positioned above the pod system; wherein a bottom surface of the central compartment is substantially tangent to a central bottom external surface of the fuselage of the aircraft; and wherein top surfaces of the left side and right-side bays are substantially above the bottom of the fuselage of the aircraft in that the left-side and right-side bays are large enough to accommodate equipment for use with or by the aircraft.