Rockwell X-31

The Rockwell X-31 is an experimental fighter-type aircraft developed jointly by Rockwell International and Germany's Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, first flown in 1990 to demonstrate thrust vectoring, in which paddles deflect the engine's exhaust to help control the aircraft, combined with advanced flight control software to achieve controlled flight at extreme angles of attack well beyond what a conventional fighter could sustain without stalling. Its demonstrated post-stall maneuvers, including tight turns performed at very low speed and high nose angles that would cause a normal aircraft to lose control, influenced later thinking about high-agility fighter design, and the program's data contributed to research used in subsequent thrust-vectoring fighter programs internationally.