These institutes perform a large part of the applied research in the Netherlands, each within its own specific field of technology.

As an independent non-profit organization, the NLR is the aerospace-knowledge enterprise in the Netherlands and provides technical support to the aerospace sector.

Depending on the project, NLR acts as a sole contractor or as a subcontractor cooperating with other institutes or partners from the industry.

The RSL, the predecessor of NLR, was officially founded on 5 April 1919, shortly after the First World War, however, Aeronautics had developed slowly in the Netherlands during the first two decades of this century when compared to the neighboring countries.

The RSL was originated at offices belonging to the Ministry of Defense, mainly as a result of the aviation activities of the Army (since 1913) and the Navy (since 1917).

The only major change in its formal task took place when a separate Department of Civil Aviation (RLD) was created to supervise airworthiness and aircraft operations in the Netherlands.

As a result, two closed type wind tunnels were built in the new laboratory at Sloterweg in Amsterdam, that became fully operational in 1940.

They were the main low speed aerodynamics facilities for over 40 years until the DNW (the joint venture with the German sister organization DLR) became operational in 1980, followed by the LST 3 x 2.25 m2 of NLR, both in the Noordoostpolder.

In 1957, after a period of deliberations and negotiations, an area of 2 square kilometers was purchased in the Noordoostpolder (NOP), and in 1958, the first NLR employees started working there.

Over two-thirds of the staff are graduates from universities or technical colleges, with a large variety in specialized professions such as aerospace engineers, psychologists, mathematicians and physicists.

NARSIM consists of two physical manifestations, one for en-route ATC (NARSIM-Radar) and one for airport tower controllers (NARSIM-Tower) with a 360-degrees field-of-view visual system.

AICMA = Association Internationale des Constructeurs de Matérial Aéronautique (European Association of Aircraft Manufacturers) CIPS = Comité Internationale Permanent des Souffleries (Permanent Committee on Wind Tunnels) DLR = Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center) DNW = Deutsch-Niederländischer Windkanal / Duits-Nederlandse Windtunnel (German-Dutch Wind Tunnel) ETW = European Transonic Wind Tunnel HST = High Speed Wind Tunnel LST = Low Speed Wind Tunnel MRO = Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul NLL = Nationaal Luchtvaartlaboratorium (National Aeronautical Laboratory) ONERA = Office National d’Études et de R'echerches Aéronautiques (French Aeronautical Research Organization) RLD = Rijksluchtvaartdienst (Government Department of Civil Aviation) RSL = Rijks-Studiedienst voor de Luchtvaart (Government Service for Aeronautical Studies)