GDTech in the Spotlight in GATE.31

Velocity profile of fluid flow around a fighter aircraft. Image ©️ GDTech

For many years, GDTech has supported innovative companies developing high value-added products by providing its expertise in numerical simulation.

“The use of simulation helps reduce development cycles, accelerate time-to-market, and optimize both costs and performance. Although GDTech has been active in this field for many years, we remain firmly future-oriented. In particular, we are integrating artificial intelligence by developing reduced-order numerical models based on experimental data and simulation results. To achieve this, we rely on specialized software such as the solution developed by Adagos, a company based in Toulouse.”

In a highly competitive sector, what truly sets GDTech apart?

“It is certainly the level of expertise of our engineers and the experience accumulated over time. We have been operating in this field for more than 30 years, with in-depth mastery of complex industrial challenges.”

GDTech Selected for the European GARUDA Project

Supported by the European Defence Fund (EDF), the GARUDA project aims to lay the foundations for a new generation of autonomous collaborative combat drones (U-CCA). The objective is to design a foundational architecture capable of addressing the future challenges of air defense operations.

Through an innovative approach combining design and iterative simulation, the eight partners of the European consortium aim to create a modular and scalable platform capable of adapting to the future operational needs of European defense forces. Coordinated by ONERA, the project covers the early stages of development, including conceptual design to identify the most promising concepts, as well as the preliminary design of the selected concept.

A Strategic Technological Role for GDTech

Although participating in a European Defence Fund project is not a first for GDTech, this project holds a unique significance for the company due to its key role and the importance of its contribution.

Recognized for its expertise in advanced numerical simulation, GDTech is responsible both for developing reduced-order numerical models to rapidly assess the aerodynamic and structural performance of the various concepts under study, and for carrying out the preliminary sizing of the selected solution.

“We will study different drone geometries by evaluating their aerodynamic behavior through computational fluid dynamics simulations to characterize the flow around the structures. At the same time, we will analyze the impact of loads generated during flight. This coupled approach — aerodynamics and structures — makes it possible to optimize overall performance from the very early stages of design.”