Programme Development of air and space vehicles
For business and the government, NLR accrues knowledge about the development of innovative products for air and space vehicles. With this knowledge, we want to enable the Dutch aerospace industry to have a competitive share from 2025 – 2050 in the development and production of the next generation low emission aircraft, in programmes for the next generation helicopters, in new small satellites, launchers and space applications, and in new flight concepts. NLR also wants to build knowledge to support Defence in the evaluation of military aircraft when purchasing new types, and in assessing the effects of new technologies on aviation safety.
We help the manufacturing industry, suppliers, government and other authorities in the development of innovative and advanced avionics, systems, materials and constructions and accompanying manufacturing processes, modelling, simulation, data analytics and AI methods. The goal is a short time-to-market at optimum costs and smart reconfigurable systems. Thanks to this knowledge and these innovations — which are largely consistent with (inter)national sustainability objectives — Dutch companies can distinguish themselves from overseas competition, thus generating employment opportunities.
Objectives
- From 2035, European manufacturers (OEMs) in the aviation industry want to have low emission commercial airliners on the market. NLR is building knowledge in the short term (up until 2025) about innovative products and design-build-test processes, with digitisation of the chain and incorporating circularity.
- Up until 2030, NLR will be developing systems to make small satellites more efficient, more sustainable and more reliable. The satellites contribute to solutions for societal problems (for instance, measuring atmospheric pollution), but are also used for commercial purposes.
- NLR is also building knowledge to support Defence in the purchase of new military aircraft and in evaluating the effects of new technologies on aviation safety.
Approach
The programme primarily focuses on the development of innovative electronics, systems, instruments and lightweight materials and constructions for the aerospace industry.