The Rockwell-Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm X-31 is an experimental jet aircraft designed to test fighter thrust vectoring technology.

Feb 28, 2014 · The X-31 program demonstrated the value of thrust vectoring – directing engine exhaust flow – coupled with advanced flight control systems, to provide controlled flight at very high angles of attack.

The X-31 experimental aircraft was designed and built by Rockwell and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), as part of a joint U.S. and German Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability program to improve pilots’ abilities to control the aircraft’s pitch and yaw with more finesse than was possible in most conventional fighters.

Feb 15, 2016 · Featuring a delta-shaped, composite, twisted camber wing and strakes on the rear fuselage, the X-31 achieved stabilized flight at 70° angle of attack. With nose strakes added to increase stability, the aircraft exhibited remarkable “post-stall” maneuverability, such as a 180° turn at an extremely high angle of attack, known as the ...

By any measure, the X-31 was a highly successful flight research program at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, now the Armstrong Flight Research Center. It regularly flew several flights a day, accumulating over 550 flights during the course of …

The X-31 program showed the value of using thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust flow) coupled with advanced flight control systems, to provide controlled flight to very high angles of attack. The result is a significant advantage over conventional fighters in a …

Nov 6, 2018 · The X-31 was an international flight research program that involved collaboration from NASA, U.S. Air Force, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Navy, Deutsche Aerospace, German Federal Ministry of Defense, and Rockwell International during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Apr 30, 2003 · PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD—Flight testing of the VECTOR X-31 ended April 29, following a week of successful demonstrations of the world's first fully automated, thrust vectored...

Jul 7, 2024 · Summary and Key Points: The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Demonstrator, developed in the 1990s by Rockwell-Messerschmidt-Böklow-Blohm, was a groundbreaking aircraft designed to...

Jul 26, 2023 · The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft was secured inside the fuselage of an Air Force Reserve C-5 transport.