Case Study: BAE Systems achieves faster development and 50% lower design and testing costs with MathWorks

BAE Systems Controls Develops Autopilot for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

BAE Systems Controls needed to develop and flight-test a reliable, flight‑critical autopilot and ground control station for an Eagle 150 UAV under an aggressive schedule, limited budget, and with geographically separated teams. To meet requirements for autonomous and remote operation and for a design that could be migrated to other applications, BAE Systems used MathWorks tools including MATLAB, Simulink, Stateflow, and Simulink Coder for Model‑Based Design.

MathWorks’ tools let engineers model and simulate the six‑DOF aircraft dynamics, avionics, sensors, actuators, and control logic, reuse existing Simulink models, automatically generate embedded code and documentation, and iterate fixes through hardware‑in‑the‑loop and flight tests—achieving a successful monitored flight after an eight‑month development. Using MathWorks products, BAE Systems cut system and software design and testing costs by 50%, substantially reduced rework and testing cycle time, and minimized coding errors and manual documentation.

BAE Systems

Feng Liang

Principal Engineer