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Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
,
rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the
thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ...
from its
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
(s) or motor(s) to
control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...
the
attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...
or
angular velocity In physics, angular velocity or rotational velocity ( or ), also known as angular frequency vector,(UP1) is a pseudovector representation of how fast the angular position or orientation of an object changes with time (i.e. how quickly an objec ...
of the vehicle. In
rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
ry and
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s that fly outside the atmosphere, aerodynamic control surfaces are ineffective, so thrust vectoring is the primary means of
attitude control Attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of an aerospace vehicle with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, etc. Controlling vehicle ...
. Exhaust vanes and gimbaled engines were used in the 1930s by Robert Goddard. For aircraft, the method was originally envisaged to provide upward vertical thrust as a means to give aircraft vertical (
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
) or short (
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
) takeoff and landing ability. Subsequently, it was realized that using vectored thrust in combat situations enabled aircraft to perform various maneuvers not available to conventional-engined planes. To perform turns, aircraft that use no thrust vectoring must rely on aerodynamic control surfaces only, such as
aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s or
elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
; aircraft with vectoring must still use control surfaces, but to a lesser extent. In missile literature originating from Russian sources, thrust vectoring is often referred to as gas-dynamic steering or gas-dynamic control.


Methods


Rockets and ballistic missiles

Nominally, the
line of action In physics, the line of action (also called line of application) of a force ''(F)'' is a geometric representation of how the force is applied. It is the line through the point at which the force is applied in the same direction as the vector ...
of the thrust vector of a
rocket nozzle A rocket engine nozzle is a propelling nozzle (usually of the de Laval type) used in a rocket engine to expand and accelerate combustion products to high supersonic velocities. Simply: propellants pressurized by either pumps or high pressure u ...
passes through the vehicle's
centre of mass In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...
, generating zero net moment about the mass centre. It is possible to generate pitch and yaw moments by deflecting the main rocket thrust vector so that it does not pass through the mass centre. Because the line of action is generally oriented nearly parallel to the
roll Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation), ...
axis, roll control usually requires the use of two or more separately hinged nozzles or a separate system altogether, such as
fins A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
, or vanes in the exhaust plume of the rocket engine, deflecting the main thrust. Thrust vector control (TVC) is only possible when the propulsion system is creating thrust; separate mechanisms are required for attitude and
flight path In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways: "VOR Federal airways and Low/Medium Frequency (L/MF) (Colored) Federal airways" These are designated routes which aeroplanes ...
control during other stages of flight. Thrust vectoring can be achieved by four basic means:George P. Sutton, Oscar Biblarz, ''Rocket Propulsion Elements'', 7th Edition. * Gimbaled engine(s) or nozzle(s) * Reactive fluid injection * Auxiliary "Vernier" thrusters * Exhaust vanes, also known as jet vanes


Gimbaled thrust

Thrust vectoring for many
liquid rocket A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket utilizes a rocket engine that uses liquid propellants. Liquids are desirable because they have a reasonably high density and high specific impulse (''I''sp). This allows the volume of the propellant ta ...
s is achieved by
gimbal A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...
ing the whole
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
. This involves moving the entire
combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Interna ...
and outer engine bell as on the
Titan II The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space l ...
's twin first-stage motors, or even the entire engine assembly including the related
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
and
oxidizer An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxid ...
pumps. The
Saturn V Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...
and the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
used gimbaled engines. A later method developed for
solid propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s achieves thrust vectoring by deflecting only the
nozzle A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, a ...
of the rocket using electric actuators or
hydraulic cylinder A hydraulic cylinder (also called a linear hydraulic motor) is a mechanical actuator that is used to give a unidirectional force through a unidirectional stroke. It has many applications, notably in construction equipment (engineering vehicles ...
s. The nozzle is attached to the missile via a
ball joint In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles, and are used on virtually every automobile made. They bionically resemble the ball-and-socket joints found in most tetrapod animals. ...
with a hole in the centre, or a flexible seal made of a thermally resistant material, the latter generally requiring more
torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
and a higher power actuation system. The Trident C4 and D5 systems are controlled via hydraulically actuated nozzle. The STS SRBs used gimbaled nozzles.


Propellant injection

Another method of thrust vectoring used on
solid propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s is liquid injection, in which the
rocket nozzle A rocket engine nozzle is a propelling nozzle (usually of the de Laval type) used in a rocket engine to expand and accelerate combustion products to high supersonic velocities. Simply: propellants pressurized by either pumps or high pressure u ...
is fixed, but a fluid is introduced into the
exhaust Exhaust, exhaustive, or exhaustion may refer to: Law *Exhaustion of intellectual property rights, limits to intellectual property rights in patent and copyright law **Exhaustion doctrine, in patent law ** Exhaustion doctrine under U.S. law, in p ...
flow from injectors mounted around the aft end of the missile. If the liquid is injected on only one side of the missile, it modifies that side of the exhaust plume, resulting in different thrust on that side and an asymmetric net force on the missile. This was the control system used on the
Minuteman II The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and re ...
and the early
SLBM A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from Ballistic missile submarine, submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of whic ...
s of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.


Vernier thrusters

An effect similar to thrust vectoring can be produced with multiple
vernier thruster A vernier thruster is a rocket engine used on a spacecraft for fine adjustments to the attitude or velocity of a spacecraft. Depending on the design of a craft's maneuvering and stability systems, it may simply be a smaller thruster complementin ...
s, small auxiliary combustion chambers which lack their own turbopumps and can gimbal on one axis. These were used on the
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
and R-7 missiles and are still used on the
Soyuz rocket The Soyuz (russian: Союз, meaning "union", GRAU index 11A511) was a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed in the 1960s by OKB-1 and manufactured by State Aviation Plant No. 1 in Kuybyshev, Soviet Union. It was commissioned to launch ...
, which is descended from the R-7, but are seldom used on new designs due to their complexity and weight. These are distinct from
reaction control system A reaction control system (RCS) is a spacecraft system that uses thrusters to provide attitude control and translation. Alternatively, reaction wheels are used for attitude control. Use of diverted engine thrust to provide stable attitude contr ...
thrusters, which are fixed and independent rocket engines used for maneuvering in space.


Exhaust vanes

One of the earliest methods of thrust vectoring in rocket engines was to place vanes in the engine's exhaust stream. These exhaust vanes or jet vanes allow the thrust to be deflected without moving any parts of the engine, but reduce the rocket's efficiency. They have the benefit of allowing roll control with only a single engine, which nozzle gimbaling does not. The
V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...
used graphite exhaust vanes and aerodynamic vanes, as did the Redstone, derived from the V-2. The Sapphire and Nexo rockets of the amateur group
Copenhagen Suborbitals Copenhagen Suborbitals is an amateur, crowd-funded, and open-source human space program. Since its beginning in 2008, Copenhagen Suborbitals has flown five home-built rockets and two mock-up space capsules. Their stated goal is to have one of th ...
provide a modern example of jet vanes. Jet vanes must be made of a refractory material or actively cooled to prevent them from melting. Sapphire used solid copper vanes for copper's high heat capacity and thermal conductivity, and Nexo used graphite for its high melting point, but unless actively cooled, jet vanes will undergo significant erosion. This, combined with jet vanes' inefficiency, mostly precludes their use in new rockets.


Tactical missiles and small projectiles

Some smaller sized atmospheric tactical
missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
s, such as the
AIM-9X Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prov ...
, eschew
flight control surfaces Aircraft flight control surfaces are aerodynamic devices allowing a pilot to adjust and control the aircraft's flight attitude. Development of an effective set of flight control surfaces was a critical advance in the development of aircraft. Ea ...
and instead use mechanical vanes to deflect rocket motor exhaust to one side. By using mechanical vanes to deflect the exhaust of the missile's rocket motor, a missile can steer itself even shortly after being launched (when the missile is moving slowly, before it has reached a high speed). This is because even though the missile is moving at a low speed, the rocket motor's exhaust has a high enough speed to provide sufficient forces on the mechanical vanes. Thus, thrust vectoring can reduce a missile's minimum range. For example, anti-tank missiles such as the
Eryx Eryx is a French short-range portable semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) based wire-guided anti-tank missile (ATGM) manufactured by MBDA France and by MKEK under licence. The weapon can also be used against larger bunkers and smal ...
and the
PARS 3 LR The PARS 3 LR in German service, also known as TRIGAT-LR (Third Generation AntiTank, Long Range) and AC 3G in French, is a fire-and-forget missile, which can be used against air or ground targets. It is intended for long range applications and d ...
use thrust vectoring for this reason. Some other projectiles that use thrust-vectoring: * 9M330 * Strix mortar round uses twelve midsection lateral thruster rockets to provide terminal course corrections * AAD uses jet vanes *
Astra (missile) Astra (Sanskrit: "weapon") is an Indian family of all weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The missile is capable of engaging targets at varying ranges from a distance ...
*
Akash (missile) Akash ( IAST: Ākāśa, ) is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). Surveillance and Fire control radar, ...
*
BrahMos The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)QRSAM Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) is a missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited for the Indian Army, meant for protecting moving armoured ...
uses jet vanes *
MPATGM The MPATGM or Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile, is an Indian third generation fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) derived from India's Nag ATGM. , it is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) ...
uses jet vanes * Barak 8 uses jet vanes *
A-Darter The V3E A-Darter (Agile Darter) is a modern short-range infrared homing ("heat seeking") air-to-air missile, featuring countermeasures resistance with a 180-degree look angle and 120-degrees per second track rate, developed by South Africa's Den ...
uses jet vanes *
ASRAAM The Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), also known by its United States designation AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing (heat seeking) air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA UK, that is designed for close-range combat. It is in ...
uses jet vanes *
R-73 (missile) The R-73 (NATO reporting name AA-11 ''Archer'') is a short-range air-to-air missile developed by Vympel NPO that entered service in 1984. Development The R-73 was developed to replace the earlier R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') weapon for short-range use b ...
uses jet vanes * HQ-9 uses jet vanes *
PL-10 (ASR) The PL-10 (, NATO reporting name: CH-AA-9), formerly known as PL-ASR (stands for PiLi-Advanced Short Range), is a short-range, infrared-homing air-to-air missile (AAM) developed by the People's Republic of China. It was designed by Dr. Liang Xiaog ...
uses jet vanes *
MICA (missile) The Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Auto-défense (English: "Interception, Combat and Self-protection Missile") or MICA is a French anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system manufactured ...
uses jet vanes *
PARS 3 LR The PARS 3 LR in German service, also known as TRIGAT-LR (Third Generation AntiTank, Long Range) and AC 3G in French, is a fire-and-forget missile, which can be used against air or ground targets. It is intended for long range applications and d ...
uses jet vanes * Aster missile family combines aerodynamic control and the direct thrust vector control called "PIF-PAF" * AIM-9X uses four jet vanes inside the exhaust, that move as the fins move. *
9M96E The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...
uses a gas-dynamic control system enables maneuver at altitudes of up to 35km at forces of over 20''g'', which permits engagement of non-strategic ballistic missiles. *
9K720 Iskander The 9K720 Iskander (russian: «Искандер»; NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system produced and deployed by the Russian military. The missile systems () are to replace the obsolete OTR-21 ''Toc ...
is controlled during the whole flight with gas-dynamic and aerodynamic control surfaces. *
Dongfeng Dongfeng is the romanization of several Chinese names of which most notably "East Wind" (); it may refer to: People's Republic of China * Dongfeng (missile) (), series of ballistic missiles of the People's Liberation Army * Chinese series of dies ...
subclasses/
JL-2 The JL-2 (, NATO reporting name CSS-N-14) is a Chinese second-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) deployed on the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) Type 094 submarines. It succeeds the JL-1 SLBM ...
/
JL-3 The JL-3 () is a Chinese third-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in development. It will likely deploy on the Type 096, a predicted future class of Chinese ballistic missile submarine. The missile i ...
ballistic missiles (allegedly fitted with TVC control)


Aircraft

Most currently operational vectored thrust aircraft use
turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
s with rotating
nozzle A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, a ...
s or vanes to deflect the exhaust stream. This method can successfully deflect thrust through as much as 90 degrees, relative to the aircraft centreline. However, the engine must be sized for vertical lift, rather than normal flight, which results in a weight penalty.
Afterburning An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
(or Plenum Chamber Burning, PCB, in the bypass stream) is difficult to incorporate and is impractical for take-off and landing thrust vectoring, because the very hot exhaust can damage runway surfaces. Without afterburning it is hard to reach supersonic flight speeds. A PCB engine, the
Bristol Siddeley BS100 The Bristol Siddeley BS.100 is a British twin-spool, vectored thrust, turbofan aero engine that first ran in 1960. The engine was designed and built in limited numbers by Bristol Siddeley Engines Limited. The project was cancelled in early 1 ...
, was cancelled in 1965.
Tiltrotor A tiltrotor is an aircraft which generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors (sometimes called ''proprotors'') mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a trans ...
aircraft vector thrust via rotating
turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
engine
nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
s. The mechanical complexities of this design are quite troublesome, including twisting flexible internal components and
driveshaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connec ...
power transfer between engines. Most current tiltrotor designs feature two rotors in a side-by-side configuration. If such a craft is flown in a way where it enters a
vortex ring state The vortex ring state (VRS) is a dangerous aerodynamic condition that may arise in helicopter flight, when a vortex ring system engulfs the rotor, causing severe loss of lift. The vortex ring state is sometimes referred to as settling with powe ...
, one of the rotors will always enter slightly before the other, causing the aircraft to perform a drastic and unplanned roll. Thrust vectoring is also used as a control mechanism for
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
s. An early application was the British Army airship ''Delta'', which first flew in 1912. It was later used on HMA (His Majesty's Airship) No. 9r, a British rigid airship that first flew in 1916 and the twin 1930s-era U.S. Navy rigid airships USS ''Akron'' and USS ''Macon'' that were used as
airborne aircraft carrier An airborne aircraft carrier is a type of mother ship aircraft which can carry, launch, retrieve and support other smaller parasite aircraft. The only dedicated examples to have been built were airships, although existing heavier-than-air ai ...
s, and a similar form of thrust vectoring is also particularly valuable today for the control of modern
non-rigid airship A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...
s. In this use, most of the load is usually supported by
buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the p ...
and vectored thrust is used to control the motion of the aircraft. The first airship that used a control system based on pressurized air was
Enrico Forlanini Enrico Forlanini (13 December 1848 – 9 October 1930) was an Italian engineer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer, known for his works on helicopters, aeroplanes, hydrofoils and dirigibles. He was born in Milan. His older brother Carlo Forlanin ...
's ''Omnia Dir'' in 1930s. A design for a jet incorporating thrust vectoring was submitted in 1949 to the British Air Ministry by Percy Walwyn; Walwyn's drawings are preserved at the National Aerospace Library at Farnborough. Official interest was curtailed when it was realised that the designer was a patient in a mental hospital. Now being researched, Fluidic Thrust Vectoring (FTV) diverts thrust via secondary
fluidic Fluidics, or fluidic logic, is the use of a fluid to perform analog or digital operations similar to those performed with electronics. The physical basis of fluidics is pneumatics and hydraulics, based on the theoretical foundation of fluid ...
injections. Tests show that air forced into a jet engine exhaust stream can deflect thrust up to 15 degrees. Such nozzles are desirable for their lower mass and cost (up to 50% less),
inertia Inertia is the idea that an object will continue its current motion until some force causes its speed or direction to change. The term is properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his first law ...
(for faster, stronger control response), complexity (mechanically simpler, fewer or no moving parts or surfaces, less maintenance), and
radar cross section Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected. An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...
for stealth. This will likely be used in many
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
(UAVs), and 6th generation
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
.


Vectoring nozzles

Thrust-vectoring flight control (TVFC) is obtained through deflection of the aircraft jets in some or all of the pitch, yaw and roll directions. In the extreme, deflection of the jets in yaw, pitch and roll creates desired forces and moments enabling complete directional control of the aircraft flight path without the implementation of the conventional aerodynamic flight controls (CAFC). TVFC can also be used to hold stationary flight in areas of the flight envelope where the main aerodynamic surfaces are stalled."Thrust Vectoring Nozzle for Modern Military Aircraft" Daniel Ikaza, ITP, presented at NATO R&T Organization Symposium, Braunschweig, Germany, 8–11 May 2000 TVFC includes control of
STOVL A short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL aircraft) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is able to take off from a short runway (or take off vertically if it does not have a heavy payload) and land vertically (i.e. with no runway). The ...
aircraft during the hover and during the transition between hover and forward speeds below 50 knots where aerodynamic surfaces are ineffective."F-35B Integrated Flight Propulsion Control Development" Walker, Wurth, Fuller, AIAA 2013-44243, AIAA Aviation, August 12–14, 2013, Los Angeles, CA 2013 International Powered Lift Conference" When vectored thrust control uses a single propelling jet, as with a single-engined aircraft, the ability to produce rolling moments may not be possible. An example is an afterburning supersonic nozzle where nozzle functions are throat area, exit area, pitch vectoring and yaw vectoring. These functions are controlled by four separate actuators. A simpler variant using only three actuators would not have independent exit area control. When TVFC is implemented to complement CAFC, agility and safety of the aircraft are maximized. Increased safety may occur in the event of malfunctioning CAFC as a result of battle damage. To implement TVFC a variety of nozzles both mechanical and fluidic may be applied. This includes convergent and convergent-divergent nozzles that may be fixed or geometrically variable. It also includes variable mechanisms within a fixed nozzle, such as rotating cascades and rotating exit vanes. Within these aircraft nozzles, the geometry itself may vary from two-dimensional (2-D) to axisymmetric or elliptic. The number of nozzles on a given aircraft to achieve TVFC can vary from one on a CTOL aircraft to a minimum of four in the case of STOVL aircraft.


Definitions

; Axisymmetric: Nozzles with circular exits. ; Conventional aerodynamic flight control (CAFC): Pitch, yaw-pitch, yaw-pitch-roll or any other combination of aircraft control through aerodynamic deflection using rudders, flaps, elevators and/or ailerons. ; Converging-diverging nozzle (C-D): Generally used on supersonic jet aircraft where nozzle pressure ratio (npr) > 3. The engine exhaust is expanded through a converging section to achieve Mach 1 and then expanded through a diverging section to achieve supersonic speed at the exit plane, or less at low npr."Nozzle Selection and Design Criteria" Gambell, Terrell, DeFrancesco, AIAA 2004-3923 ; Converging nozzle: Generally used on subsonic and transonic jet aircraft where npr < 3. The engine exhaust is expanded through a converging section to achieve Mach 1 at the exit plane, or less at low npr. ; Effective Vectoring Angle: The average angle of deflection of the jet stream centreline at any given moment in time. ; Fixed nozzle: A thrust-vectoring nozzle of invariant geometry or one of variant geometry maintaining a constant geometric area ratio, during vectoring. This will also be referred to as a civil aircraft nozzle and represents the nozzle thrust vectoring control applicable to passenger, transport, cargo and other subsonic aircraft. ; Fluidic thrust vectoring: The manipulation or control of the exhaust flow with the use of a secondary air source, typically bleed air from the engine compressor or fan."Experimental Study of an Axisymmetric Dual Throat Fluidic Thrust Vectoring Nozzle for Supersonic Aircraft application" Flamme, Deere, Mason, Berrier, Johnson, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20070030933.pdf ; Geometric vectoring angle: Geometric centreline of the nozzle during vectoring. For those nozzles vectored at the geometric throat and beyond, this can differ considerably from the effective vectoring angle. ; Three-bearing swivel duct nozzle (3BSD): Three angled segments of engine exhaust duct rotate relative to one another about duct centreline to produce nozzle thrust axis pitch and yaw. ; Three-dimensional (3-D): Nozzles with multi-axis or pitch and yaw control. ; Thrust vectoring (TV): The deflection of the jet away from the body-axis through the implementation of a flexible nozzle, flaps, paddles, auxiliary fluid mechanics or similar methods. ; Thrust-vectoring flight control (TVFC): Pitch, yaw-pitch, yaw-pitch-roll, or any other combination of aircraft control through deflection of thrust generally issuing from an air-breathing turbofan engine. ; Two-dimensional (2-D): Nozzles with square or rectangular exits. In addition to the geometrical shape 2-D can also refer to the degree-of-freedom (DOF) controlled which is single axis, or pitch-only, in which case round nozzles are included. ; Two-dimensional converging-diverging (2-D C-D): Square, rectangular, or round supersonic nozzles on fighter aircraft with pitch-only control. ; Variable nozzle: A thrust-vectoring nozzle of variable geometry maintaining a constant, or allowing a variable, effective nozzle area ratio, during vectoring. This will also be referred to as a military aircraft nozzle as it represents the nozzle thrust vectoring control applicable to fighter and other supersonic aircraft with afterburning. The convergent section may be fully controlled with the divergent section following a pre-determined relationship to the convergent throat area. Alternatively, the throat area and the exit area may be controlled independently, to allow the divergent section to match the exact flight condition.


Methods of nozzle control

; Geometric area ratios: Maintaining a fixed geometric area ratio from the throat to the exit during vectoring. The effective throat is constricted as the vectoring angle increases. ; Effective area ratios: Maintaining a fixed effective area ratio from the throat to the exit during vectoring. The geometric throat is opened as the vectoring angle increases. ; Differential area ratios: Maximizing nozzle expansion efficiency generally through predicting the optimal effective area as a function of the mass flow rate.


Methods of thrust vectoring

; Type I: Nozzles whose baseframe mechanically is rotated before the geometrical throat. ; Type II: Nozzles whose baseframe is mechanically rotated at the geometrical throat. ; Type III: Nozzles whose baseframe is not rotated. Rather, the addition of mechanical deflection post-exit vanes or paddles enables jet deflection. ; Type IV: Jet deflection through counter-flowing or co-flowing (by shock-vector control or throat shifting) auxiliary jet streams. Fluid-based jet deflection using secondary fluidic injection. ; ''Additional type'': Nozzles whose upstream exhaust duct consists of wedge-shaped segments which rotate relative to each other about the duct centreline.


Operational examples


Aircraft

An example of 2D thrust vectoring is the
Rolls-Royce Pegasus The Rolls-Royce Pegasus, formerly the Bristol Siddeley Pegasus, is a British turbofan engine originally designed by Bristol Siddeley. It was manufactured by Rolls-Royce plc. The engine is not only able to power a jet aircraft forward, but also ...
engine used in the
Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and ...
, as well as in the
AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...
variant. Widespread use of thrust vectoring for enhanced maneuverability in Western production-model fighter aircraft didn't occur until the deployment of the
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
fifth-generation jet fighter in 2005, with its afterburning, 2D thrust-vectoring
Pratt & Whitney F119 The Pratt & Whitney F119, company designation PW5000, is an afterburning turbofan engine developed by Pratt & Whitney for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, which resulted in the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The engine delivers thrust ...
turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
."F-22 Raptor fact sheet."
''U.S. Air Force'', March 2009. Retrieved: 10 July 2014.
While the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
uses a conventional afterburning turbofan (Pratt & Whitney F135) to facilitate supersonic operation, its F-35B variant, developed for joint usage by the
US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
,
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
,
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, and
Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
, also incorporates a vertically mounted, low-pressure shaft-driven remote fan, which is driven through a clutch during landing from the engine. Both the exhaust from this fan and the main engine's fan are deflected by thrust vectoring nozzles, to provide the appropriate combination of lift and propulsive thrust. It is not conceived for enhanced maneuverability in combat, only for
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
operation, and the F-35A and F-35C do not use thrust vectoring at all. The
Sukhoi Su-30MKI The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet Multirole combat aircraft, multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian A ...
, produced by India under licence at
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence (military), defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manuf ...
, is in active service with the
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
. The TVC makes the aircraft highly maneuverable, capable of near-zero airspeed at high angles of attack without stalling, and dynamic aerobatics at low speeds. The
Su-30MKI The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A varian ...
is powered by two Al-31FP
afterburning An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
s. The TVC nozzles of the MKI are mounted 32 degrees outward to longitudinal engine axis (i.e. in the horizontal plane) and can be deflected ±15 degrees in the vertical plane. This produces a
corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attached to a hand ...
effect, greatly enhancing the turning capability of the aircraft. A few computerized studies add thrust vectoring to extant passenger airliners, like the Boeing 727 and 747, to prevent catastrophic failures, while the experimental X-48C may be jet-steered in the future.


Other

Examples of rockets and missiles which use thrust vectoring include both large systems such as the
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was the first solid-propellant rocket to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. A pair of these provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first ...
(SRB), S-300P (SA-10)
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
,
UGM-27 Polaris The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980. In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missile ...
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
and RT-23 (SS-24) ballistic missile and smaller battlefield weapons such as
Swingfire Swingfire was a British wire-guided anti-tank missile developed in the 1960s and produced from 1966 until 1993. The name refers to its ability to make a rapid turn of up to ninety degrees after firing to bring it onto the line of the sighting ...
. The principles of air thrust vectoring have been recently adapted to military sea applications in the form of fast water-jet steering that provide super-agility. Examples are the fast patrol boat Dvora Mk-III, the
Hamina class missile boat The ''Hamina''-class missile boat is a class of fast attack craft of the Finnish Navy. They are classified as "missile fast attack craft" or ''ohjusvene'', literally "missile boat" in Finnish. The ''Hamina'' FACs are based at Upinniemi, and for ...
and the US Navy's
Littoral combat ship The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...
s.


List of vectored thrust aircraft

Thrust vectoring can convey two main benefits: VTOL/STOL, and higher maneuverability. Aircraft are usually optimized to maximally exploit one benefit, though will gain in the other.


For VTOL ability

*
Bell Model 65 The Bell Model 65 Air Test Vehicle (ATV) was an experimental tiltjet VTOL aircraft built by Bell using parts from a number of general aviation aircraft.Bell X-14 The Bell X-14 (Bell Type 68) is an experimental VTOL aircraft flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project was to demonstrate vectored thrust horizontal and vertical takeoff, hover, transition to forward flight, ...
*
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a convention ...
*
Boeing X-32 The Boeing X-32 is a concept demonstrator aircraft that was designed for the Joint Strike Fighter competition. It lost to the Lockheed Martin X-35 demonstrator, which was further developed into the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Developm ...
*
Dornier Do 31 The Dornier Do 31 is an experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet-propelled transport designed and produced by West German aircraft manufacturer Dornier. The development of the Do 31 was motivated principally by heavy interest exp ...
*
EWR VJ 101 The EWR VJ 101 was an experimental German jet fighter vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) tiltjet aircraft. VJ stood for ''Versuchsjäger'', (German for "Experimental Fighter"). The VJ 101 was one of the first V/STOL designs to have the potential f ...
*
Harrier jump jet The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier jump jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). Named after a bird of prey, it was originally developed by British ma ...
**
British Aerospace Harrier II The British Aerospace Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest developm ...
**
British Aerospace Sea Harrier The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval STOVL, short take-off and vertical landing/VTOL, vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier jump je ...
**
Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and ...
**
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...
*
Hawker Siddeley Kestrel The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 are the British experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first ''vertical and/or short take-off and landing'' (V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber. Develo ...
*
Hawker Siddeley P.1127 The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 are the British experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first ''vertical and/or short take-off and landing'' ( V/STOL) jet fighter-bomber. Devel ...
*
Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
*
VFW VAK 191B The VFW VAK 191B was an experimental German vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) strike fighter of the early 1970s. VAK was the abbreviation for ''Vertikalstartendes Aufklärungs- und Kampfflugzeug'' (Vertical Take-off Reconnaissance and Strike ...
*
Yakovlev Yak-38 The Yakovlev Yak-38 (russian: Яковлев Як-38; NATO reporting name: "Forger") was the Soviet Naval Aviation's only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It w ...
*
Yakovlev Yak-141 The Yakovlev Yak-141 (russian: Яковлев Як-141; NATO reporting name "Freestyle"), also known as the Yak-41, is a Soviet supersonic vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft designed by Yakovlev. It was used for testing. Design ...


For higher maneuverability


Vectoring in two dimensions

*
McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD The McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD (Short Takeoff and Landing/Maneuver Technology Demonstrator) is a modified F-15 Eagle. Developed as a technology demonstrator, the F-15 STOL/MTD carried out research for studying the effects of thrust vectori ...
(experimental) *
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
(pitch only) *
Chengdu J-20 The Chengdu J-20 (), also known as ''Mighty Dragon'' (), is a twinjet all-weather stealth fighter aircraft developed by China's Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is designed as an air ...
(earlier variants with WS-10C, pitch and roll) *
Sukhoi Su-30MKI The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet Multirole combat aircraft, multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian A ...
/ MKM/ MKA/ SM (pitch and roll) *
Sukhoi Su-37 The Sukhoi Su-37 (russian: link=no, Сухой Су-37; NATO reporting name: Flanker-F; popularly nicknamed "Terminator") was a single-seat twin-engine aircraft designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau that served as a technology demonstrator. It ...
* Sukhoi Su-35S *
Sukhoi Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (russian: Сухой Су-57; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (russian: ПАК ФА, russ ...
*
McDonnell Douglas X-36 The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) X-36 ''Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft'' was an American stealthy subscale prototype jet designed to fly without the traditional empennage found on most aircraft. This configuration was designed t ...
(yaw only) *
Me 163 The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...
B experimentally used a rocket steering paddle for the yaw axis


Vectoring in three dimensions

* Chengdu J-10B TVC testbed (experimental) *
Mikoyan MiG-35 Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...
(MiG-29OVT, not in production aircraft) * McDonnell Douglas F-15 ACTIVE (experimental) *
General Dynamics F-16 VISTA The General Dynamics X-62 VISTA ("Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft") is an experimental aircraft, derived from the F-16D Fighting Falcon, which was modified as a joint venture between General Dynamics and Calspan for use by t ...
(experimental) *
Rockwell-MBB X-31 The Rockwell-Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm X-31 was an experimental jet fighter designed to test fighter thrust vectoring technology. It was designed and built by Rockwell and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), as part of a joint US and German '' ...
(experimental) * McDonnell Douglas F-18 HARV (experimental) * Mitsubishi X-2 (experimental)


Other

* 23 class airship, a series of British, World War 1 airships *
Airship Industries Skyship 600 The Airship Industries Skyship 600 is a modern airship, originally designed by British company Airship Industries, further developed by a subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Corporation the type certificate holder is now Skyship Services of Or ...
modern airship *
Zeppelin NT The Zeppelin NT (''"Neue Technologie"'', German for ''new technology'') is a class of helium-filled airships being manufactured since the 1990s by the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) in Friedrichshafen. The initial model i ...
modern, thrust–vectoring airship


See also

*
Gimbaled thrust Gimbaled thrust is the system of thrust vectoring used in most rockets, including the Space Shuttle, the Saturn V lunar rockets, and the Falcon 9. Operation In a gimbaled thrust system, the engine or just the exhaust nozzle of the rocket can be ...
*
Reverse thrust Thrust reversal, also called reverse thrust, is the temporary diversion of an aircraft engine's thrust for it to act against the forward travel of the aircraft, providing deceleration. Thrust reverser systems are featured on many jet aircraft to ...
*
Tiltjet A tiltjet is an aircraft propulsion configuration that was historically tested for proposed VTOL, Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL)-capable fighters. The tiltjet arrangement is, in concept, broadly similar to that of the tiltrotor; whereas a t ...
*
Tiltrotor A tiltrotor is an aircraft which generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors (sometimes called ''proprotors'') mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a trans ...
*
Tiltwing A tiltwing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. It is similar to the tiltrotor design where only the propeller and engine rotate. Tiltwing aircraft are typical ...
*
Tail-sitter A tail-sitter, or tailsitter, is a type of VTOL aircraft that takes off and lands on its tail, then tilts horizontally for forward flight. Originating in the 1920s with the inventor Nikola Tesla, the first aircraft to adopt a tail-sitter configur ...
*
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...


References

8. Wilson, Erich A., "An Introduction to Thrust-Vectored Aircraft Nozzles",


External links

* {{Commons category-inline Jet engines Airship technology