Abstract
The future of warfare is being shaped not just by faster machines, but by the gradual removal of
human hands from the battlefield. For my senior design capstone project, we entered the UCAH
hypersonic design competition, where we were tasked to design an unpowered hypersonic flight
vehicle that maximized range and simplicity of manufacturing. The rationale behind this project is
to expand knowledge of hypersonics and integrate CFD into the design process.
My STS research paper investigates emotional attachment and warfare dynamics in the context
of the introduction of autonomous weapons. I was drawn to this topic because of its similarity
to my capstone project. Additionally, autonomous weapons are relatively new and increasingly
numerous, and it is important to analyze their social effects.
These two projects are intertwined in the technical and social aspects of autonomous weapons.
The hypersonic vehicle we designed is uncrewed and can be classified as an autonomous vehicle,
which my STS paper investigates.
Designing a stable and maneuverable vehicle at hypersonic speeds can be quite challenging. The
extreme environments surrounding hypersonic vehicles can lead to difficulties in temperature con-
trol and complicated aerodynamics. To assist in our design, we used CFD to iterate and ultimately
optimize our shape. This approach allowed us to leverage computational power while bypassing
complex analytical solutions.
Through our project, we were able to effectively optimize our design and were awarded with testing
at the CUBRIC wind tunnel in Buffalo, NY. Using a 15-degree parametric CAD design with a
discrete design matrix, we created an interpolated mapping of parameters to performance values.
Using this mapping function, we optimized for the highest lift-to-drag ratio. Additionally, we
chose appropriate materials to take the thermal and mechanical stresses and designed the vehicle
to be easy to assemble.
For my STS investigation, I researched the topic of autonomous weapons and target dehumaniza-
tion because I want to find out how autonomous weapons systems affect the emotional attachment
between the attacker and the target. This is significant because dissociation from destruction can
lead to unethical violence towards targets. I split the analysis into two groups: remotely controlled
and fully autonomous weapons were researched and analyzed within the frameworks of Actor-
Network Theory (ANT) and Virtue Ethics. For analysis, a literature review was conducted by
summarizing the texts, followed by an in-depth analysis of the authors’ biases and results.
In my research, I found that distance, physical and emotional, plays a large role in the attacker-
target attachment and relationship. In the case of remotely controlled weapons, pilots of such
vehicles felt a stronger emotional connection to their actions than conventional aircraft pilots did.
Despite being physically farther from the target, drones’ close proximity and high-resolution cam-
eras create a closer connection. Fully autonomous weapons raise serious ethical concerns by creat-
ing an unfair advantage to the drone users who are not in danger. Additionally, faulty programming
can lead to targeting errors and loss of life. These mistakes are difficult to justify because of their
immense impact on human lives.
Notes
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Technical Advisor: Chris Goyne; Xinfeng Gao
STS Advisor: Pedro Augusto Francisco
Technical Team Members: Victoria Sun, Michael Della Santina, Michael Novak, Eric Voigt, Channing Reynolds, Genevieve Forrer, Owen McGilberry, Joe McPhail, Joshua Stoner, Lukas Hange, Kayla Kadlubek, Ava Frodsham, Arwen Nicolau
