The present work aims at increasing the responsiveness of aerodynamic coefficient predictions for the investigation of the effects of technological details. Starting from a simplified configuration and using Zonal Immersed Boundary Conditions which combine the local use of both a modelling method (e.g. RANS, URANS, ZDES, LES or DNS) and IBC (Immersed Boundary Conditions), realistic configurations are rapidly turned into feasible numerical simulations. In this paper, the efficiency and the

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... ness of the methodology is demonstrated using a simplified Ariane 5 configuration discretized with a body-fitted approach. Then, the effect of additional protrusions on the flow is mimicked thanks to Zonal Immersed Boundary Conditions allowing to simulate a complete Ariane 5 space launcher configuration along with the sting holding the model. The unsteady side-loads are compared with the available experimental data.