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X-31 VECTOR Technology Program

Berlin, 01 May 2002

The experimental aircraft X-31 is scheduled to start the second flight test phase of the U.S.-German VECTOR program beginning of May. The aircraft had completed functional check flights in April 2001 at the Naval Aviation Flight Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland. During the one year lay-up phase a highly sophisticated precision navigation system has been integrated, blending differential carrier wave GPS data with inertial data yielding dynamic cm-level position accuracy with high integrity. This allows autonomous high precision approaches and automatic landings at increased angles of attack and low speeds down to around 100 knots for fighter type aircraft. In order to accomplish this task, new flight control software has been developed and tested in simulation. During the upcoming test phase, the navigation system and the new flight control software will be checked out during "landings"' on a virtual runway at safe altitude. In addition, an Advanced Flush Air Data System (AADS), developed by EADS Military Aircraft and Nord-Micro and will be tested during VECTOR flight demonstrations. This concept allows measuring angle of attack, angle of sideslip, Mach number and altitude from redundant pressure measurements at the radome tip.

Real automatic landings on a runway will be performed in a later flight test phase after a further software update.

The VECTOR program objectives are lo explore extreme short take-off and -landing capabilities by usingintegrated thrust-vectoring control. VECTOR stands for Vectoring ESTOL - Extremely Short TakeOff and Landing - Control Tailless Operation Research.

The VECTOR program is jointly conducted by the U.S. partners U.S. Navy and Boeing, and the German partners Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB), the German Air Force's Test Center (WTD) 61, Manching, EADS Military Aircraft, and the Institute for Flight Systems Technologies of the German Aerospace Research Agency (DLR) in Brunswick, Lower Saxony.

With revenues amounting to EUR 30.8 billion and a workforce of 103,000, EADS European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company is the largest European aerospace company and the No 2 worldwide. It is active in the sectors of commercial aircraft, helicopters, space, military transport and combat aircraft as well as defence technology and services. Among others, EADS holds 80 percent of Airbus, 75 per cent of the space company Astrium, 100 percent of the helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter, 43 percent in the Eurofighter programme and 37.5 percent in the missile company MBDA.

Your contact:
Military Aircraft
Wolfram Wolff
Phone: +49-89-607 25711
Fax: +49-89-607 22455
e-mail: wolfram.wolff@m.eads.net