The use of digital computers in aircraft design was developed by large aerospace companies throughout the 1970s and included technique such as CAD, CAM, structural component stress analysis using FEA and for aerodynamic modelling.
This use of "relaxed static stability" allowed aircraft to be made more manoeuvrable and to be given an artificial "feel" to aid pilots in their main task.
The Cold War era ended shortly after the arrival of digital technologies, bringing a marked decrease of military aviation among the major powers.
This use of "relaxed static stability" allowed aircraft to be made more manoeuvrable and to be given an artificial "feel" to aid pilots in their main task.
Meanwhile, conventional aero engines, both piston- and turbine-based, have continued the process of refinement, becoming steadily more reliable and fuel-efficient, while at the same time less polluting.
This use of "relaxed static stability" allowed aircraft to be made more manoeuvrable and to be given an artificial "feel" to aid pilots in their main task.
The development of lightweight and low-cost sensors such as digital cameras together with mobile computing technologies has allowed UAVs to become more sophisticated and to undertake autonomous flight decisions.
Modern jet airliners have glass cockpits, full-authority digital engine and fly-by-wire computerised flight controls and, most recently, Mobile Internet communications connectivity.
The use of digital fly-by-wire systems and relaxed static stability gave military aircraft increased manoeuvrability without sacrificing safety or flyability.
Digital technology allowed missile guidance systems to shrink in size and to compute and correct their flight path en route.
The use of onboard maps, video processing and terrain comparison (TERCOM) software gave cruise missiles unprecedented accuracy.
Where a metal skin tends to conduct the current from a lightning strike in all directions and to shield sensitive components, carbon fibre tends to conduct along the fibres and to allow more of the energy into the interior, requiring more careful design to protect critical flight components from lightning EMP.
In particular the use of digital flight systems such as fly-by-wire has led to an ever-increasing sophistication and complexity of the control software, which can take many years to develop and validate.