Northrop-Dornier ND-102
Northrop-Dornier ND-102 was the name of a fighter aircraft project carried out jointly by Northrop ( USA ) and Dornier ( Federal Republic of Germany ) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, the work did not get beyond the creation of a number of wind tunnel models . Many aspects of the concept were later incorporated into the development of the Northrop YF-23 .
development
In the 1970s, a tender was issued for a new fighter aircraft for the German Air Force of the 90s (TKF-90 / Tactical Combat Airplane 90). VFW-Fokker and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm each presented drafts that later resulted in international collaboration in the development of the Eurofighter . In contrast, the third large German aircraft manufacturer Dornier decided to cooperate with the US company Northrop, which already had extensive experience with tactical fighter jets.
From 1978 onwards, 34 different wind tunnel models were tested over a total of 1200 hours , from which an optimized design was finally selected in 1982, which was strongly reminiscent of today's Saab Gripen . The total weight of the sample should be approximately 25,000 lb (11,400 kg). The aircraft was to be powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW1120 engines.
The concept was exhibited under the designation ND-102 International Fighter at the Paris Aviation Salon in 1983. A year later, the development was stopped, possibly because the signs of the times already clearly indicated a European cooperation to build the new fighter aircraft for the Air Force.
Northrop and Dornier invested a total of approximately US $ 20 million in the development.