The concept aircraft T25 features a special wing technology – the truss-braced wing. The slender high mounted- and supported wing is designed to improve efficiency and leads to a reduced fuel consumption as its increased wingspan and optimization for natural laminar flow (NLF) reduces aerodynamic drag.
The T25 also features an Ultra-High Bypass Ratio (UHBR) turbofan engine, which significantly improves fuel efficiency and reduces emissions compared to traditional turbofan engines.
In addition, this aircraft allows for energy flexibility - it can either be operated with synthetic or with fossil kerosene.
The T25 features a strut to enable a slender, high-aspect ratio wing, yielding an improved aerodynamic efficiency without a significant increase of the wing mass; the wingtips are foldable to maintain a good compatibility with existing airport infrastructures. Furthermore, as the high aspect-ratio wing has a low internal volume, part of the fuel is stored in an integral fuselage tank.
Project & Partners
The T25 was designed in the Germany federal aviation research programme LuFo-VII project ZEexplore in partnership with Airbus.
Outlook
In the next steps of the ZEexplore project, different variants of this concept will be developed to investigate the possible synergies with other technologies. This will include a liquid hydrogen powered version, and one featuring an open-rotor engine.