Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke

Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke, usually shortened to VFW and meaning United Aviation Engineering Works, was a West German aerospace manufacturer based at Bremen. It was formed in 1964 by the merger of Focke-Wulf and Weser Flugzeugbau, two firms that had worked together with Hamburger Flugzeugbau in the Entwicklungsring Nord rocket technology alliance since 1961. Its best known programme was the VFW 614 short-haul airliner, and from 1969 it ran a joint venture with the Dutch producer Fokker, which was wound up in 1980 after the poor results of the 614. In 1981 VFW was acquired by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm and largely integrated into it, and the present-day successor company is the multinational Airbus Group.