| VAK 191B | |
|---|---|
 VAK 191B displayed next to a Dornier Do 31 transport | |
| General information | |
| Type | VTOL strike fighter |
| Manufacturer | Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke |
| Status | Retired |
| Number built | 3 |
| History | |
| First flight | 10 September 1971[1] |
The VFW VAK 191B was an experimental German vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) strike fighter of the early 1970s. VAK was the abbreviation for Vertikalstartendes Aufklärungs- und Kampfflugzeug (Vertical Take-off Reconnaissance and Strike Aircraft). Designed and built by the Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke (VFW), it was developed with the purpose of eventually serving as a replacement for the Italian Fiat G.91 then in service with the German Air Force. Operationally, it was intended to have been armed with nuclear weapons as a deterrent against aggression from the Soviet Union and, in the event of a major war breaking out, to survive the first wave of attacks by deploying to dispersed locations, rather than conventional airfields, and to retaliate against targets behind enemy lines.
The VAK 191B suffered from a protracted development cycle, spanning ten years between inception and flight, in part due to changing requirements, changing partnerships and the difficulties inherent in the development of VTOL-capable aircraft. Ultimately, during the late 1960s, VFW decided to demote the development programme from targeting the type's production and instead only to test-fly a limited number of prototypes, using the VAK 191B effectively as a technology demonstrator and experimental aircraft to support the company's other activities and future programmes. On 10 September 1971, the first prototype conducted the type's maiden flight. A total of 91 flights were performed prior to the retirement of all three prototypes in 1975. These aircraft have been preserved and two are now on public display in museums.