Lightweight structural design is a foundational challenge in the development of aircraft, with direct implications for propulsion efficiency, payload capacity, system reliability and life-cycle cost. Among various mass-reduction strategies, truss structures-owing to their exceptional specific stiffness, multi-scale configurability, and mechanical efficiency-have evolved into a systematic solution and play a pivotal role in modern aircraft structural design. This review establishes a comprehensive research framework for truss structures in aircraft. It synthesizes insights ranging from unit-cell mechanics to full-airframe integration and applies shared performance indices to support consistent comparison of findings. The analysis is organized into five dimensions: historical evolution, engineering practice, material innovation, optimization methodologies and future outlook. First, it traces the development of truss systems from early flight platforms to next-generation aerospace configurations, focusing on load path evolution. Second, it investigates design strategies and research advances across key structural components. Third, the review highlights progress in material systems critical to truss performance. Fourth, it summarizes recent developments in optimization methodologies. Based on current progress, this review further assesses truss structures’ advantages and engineering limitations and explores their future integration into advanced aeronautical systems. It intends to offer theoretical foundations and practical guidance for future studies on lightweight structural systems in aeronautical engineering.
Yan et al. (Sun,) studied this question.