ALFLEX

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ALFLEX (Automatic Landing Flight EXperiment) was an experimental unmanned aircraft created by NASDA and NAL, the predecessors of JAXA, in 1996. It was built as a successor to HYFLEX as part of the HOPE program.{{cite web|title=About Automatic Landing Flight Experiment "ALFLEX"|url=https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/rockets/alflex/index.html|publisher=JAXA|access-date=July 4, 2023}}

ALFLEX was built to establish the basic technology of automatic landing. The design featured a streamlined metal hull, delta planiform wings, and large winglets. Despite being a project of Japanese aerospace agencies, ALFLEX never left the atmosphere. Instead, it was carried up to a high altitude by a helicopter, then released to automatically glide down to the designated landing site, navigating by means of onboard computers.{{cite journal|title=ALFLEX five degrees of freedom hanging flight test|author1=Taro Tsukamoto|author2=Masaaki Yanagihara|author3=Masahiko Nagayasu|author4=Masakazu Sagisaka|url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.1997-3484|date=1997|access-date=July 4, 2023|journal=22nd Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference|doi=10.2514/6.1997-3484 |url-access=subscription}} ALFLEX completed thirteen drop tests from July to August 1996, all of which were successful.{{cite web|title=NASDA History |url=https://global.jaxa.jp/about/history/nasda/index_e.html|quote=Automatic Landing Flight Exepriment (ALFLEX) was conducted 13 times.|publisher=NASDA|access-date=July 4, 2023}}