page_title: Thrust vectoring
hierarchical_section_title: Thrust vectoring
caption_attribution_description: English: The three thrust-vectoring aircraft at Edwards, California, each capable of flying at extreme angles of attack, cruise over the California desert in formation during flight in March 1994. They are, from left, NASA's F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV), flown by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center; the X-31, flown by the X-31 International Test Organization (ITO) at Dryden; and the Air Force F-16 Multi-Axis Thrust Vectoring (MATV) aircraft.
context_page_description: Thrust vectoring, also thrust vector control or TVC, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine or motor to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle.
  In rocketry and ballistic missiles that fly outside the atmosphere, aerodynamic control surfaces are ineffective, so thrust vectoring is the primary means of attitude control.
  For aircraft, the method was originally envisaged to provide upward vertical thrust as a means to give aircraft vertical or short takeoff and landing ability. Subsequently, it was realized that using vectored thrust in combat situations enabled aircraft to perform various maneuvers not available to conventional-engined planes. To perform turns, aircraft that use no thrust vectoring must rely on aerodynamic control surfaces only, such as ailerons or elevator; aircraft with vectoring must still use control surfaces, but to a lesser extent.
  In missile literature originating from Russian sources, thrust vectoring is often referred as gas-dynamic steering or gas-dynamic control.
context_section_description: Thrust vectoring, also thrust vector control or TVC, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle.
  In rocketry and ballistic missiles that fly outside the atmosphere, aerodynamic control surfaces are ineffective, so thrust vectoring is the primary means of attitude control.
  For aircraft, the method was originally envisaged to provide upward vertical thrust as a means to give aircraft vertical (VTOL) or short (STOL) takeoff and landing ability. Subsequently, it was realized that using vectored thrust in combat situations enabled aircraft to perform various maneuvers not available to conventional-engined planes. To perform turns, aircraft that use no thrust vectoring must rely on aerodynamic control surfaces only, such as ailerons or elevator; aircraft with vectoring must still use control surfaces, but to a lesser extent.
  In missile literature originating from Russian sources, thrust vectoring is often referred as gas-dynamic steering or gas-dynamic control.
caption: Three experimental thrust vectoring aircraft in flight; from left to right, F-18 HARV, X-31, and F-16 MATV
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