Grumman Future Air Attack Vehicle

In the early 1990s, the current replacement of the obsolete Fairchild A-10 aircraft with a new machine began. Grumman therefore designed a subsonic attack aircraft with some elements of stealth technology and VTOL characteristics, designed primarily to support ground troops and destroy tanks. It had a built-in ring blower in both parts of the wing. During slow flight and hanging, part of the exhaust gases had to be discharged through internal channels directly into the blower, which would spin it and this would then create additional buoyancy by sucking in ambient air. Under the blower was a deflection grille, which directed the air flow and thus provided additional stability and maneuverability.

The trapezoidal wing with a span of 58.7ft and an arrowhead of 30 degrees on the leading and trailing edge was to create the so-called ground effect and thus facilitate vertical start. The propulsion was to be provided by one unspecified jet engine, which used an air inlet located under the cockpit. The nozzle from the engine was shielded by hybrid tail surfaces inclined 40 degrees from the horizontal axis, which were taken from the Northrop YF-23 (the model for wind tunnel tests had the classic horizontal and double vertical tail surfaces). The US Army has expressed interest in the aircraft with the internal designation Model 755 and has provided funding for the definition phase. At the same time, an agreement was signed with NASA to test a reduced octave model in wind tunnels. The tests were focused primarily on maneuvering characteristics at large angles of attack, but they did not turn out the best. Problems with hanging instability and reduced military spending after the end of the Cold War made it impossible to continue development.