|
|
Battle of the X-Planes
|
|
|
|
Program Overview
|
|
|
NOVA takes you behind the scenes of an intense five-year competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin to see who will produce a single airplane design—the Joint Strike Fighter—to meet the needs of three U.S. armed forces: the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.
The program:
explains the requirements of the Joint Strike Fighter: a low-cost, adaptable design featuring stealth and vertical take-off and landing capabilities.
presents the stakes of the competition: a $200 billion contract and the future of fighter aircraft design for the next few decades.
focuses on the most demanding engineering challenge: building a practical vertical take-off and landing system.
dramatizes the design and manufacturing process of the four demonstration airplanes.
demonstrates how much of the design is worked out before assembly with the aid of computers and flight simulators.
shows how two very different designs can meet the same criteria.
reveals the rigorous flight testing procedure used for the demonstration airplanes.
presents the government's evaluation process for choosing the winning design.
|
|
