Expandable exhaust cone

A cruise missile, the missile comprising

• a fuel supply tank,
• a gas turbine engine, the engine comprising a compressor assembly, a combustor assembly, and a turbine assembly including a case and a rotor mounted in the case to rotate relative to the case, and
• an expandable exhaust cone assembly for use in the gas turbine engine, the assembly comprising a fixed cone segment arranged around a central axis and mounted to a structural component of the gas turbine engine, a plurality of movable cone segments configured to move from a collapsed position, associated with a first overall length of the expandable exhaust cone along the central axis, to an expanded position, associated with a second overall length of the expandable exhaust cone along the central axis that is longer than the first length, and a cone mover configured to drive the plurality of movable cone segments from the collapsed position to the expanded position in response to startup of the gas turbine engine.

A method of using a cruise missile, the method comprising

• stowing the cruise missile within an internal weapons bay of an aircraft, the cruise missile comprising a gas turbine engine including an expandable exhaust cone assembly configured to move from a collapsed position, associated with a first overall length of the expandable exhaust cone along a central axis, to an expanded position, associated with a second overall length of the expandable exhaust cone along the central axis that is longer than the first length,
• deploying the cruise missile from the internal weapons bay of the aircraft, and
• moving the expandable exhaust cone assembly from the collapsed position to the expanded position after deploying the cruise missile from the internal weapons bay of the aircraft.