**Abstract**

A phenomenological model of wave drag modification following the thermal energy deposition in a hypersonic flow is presented. While most of the previous research was concentrated on finding optimal gas parameter values and the amount of energy, this work points at closer attention to the effect of the parameter distribution and the geometry of experimental arrangements. The approach discussed here is to fill the gap in the understanding of the complex mechanism of the flow transformation leading to the wave drag reduction. Analytical expressions used in the model identify a number of adjustment parameters that can be used to optimize thermal energy input and thus achieve fundamentally lower drag values than that of conventional approaches.

**Keywords:** shock waves, hypersonic plasma dynamics, shock wave instability, vorticity, aerodynamics drag
