Future Aircraft Technology Enhancements

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The Future Aircraft Technology Enhancements (FATE) program is a program to develop new technologies. It is being run by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The X-39 aircraft designation is reserved for use with FATE by the USAF.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">DARPA</span> Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA X-43</span> Unmanned US experimental supersonic aircraft, 1991-2000

The NASA X-43 was an experimental unmanned hypersonic aircraft with multiple planned scale variations meant to test various aspects of hypersonic flight. It was part of the X-plane series and specifically of NASA's Hyper-X program developed in the late 1990s. It set several airspeed records for jet aircraft. The X-43 is the fastest jet-powered aircraft on record at approximately Mach 9.6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing X-45</span> Type of aircraft

The Boeing X-45 unmanned combat air vehicle is a concept demonstrator for a next generation of completely autonomous military aircraft, developed by Boeing's Phantom Works. Manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the X-45 was a part of DARPA's J-UCAS project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman X-29</span> 1984 experimental aircraft family by Grumman

The Grumman X-29 was an American experimental aircraft that tested a forward-swept wing, canard control surfaces, and other novel aircraft technologies. The X-29 was developed by Grumman, and the two built were flown by NASA and the United States Air Force. The aerodynamic instability of the X-29's airframe required the use of computerized fly-by-wire control. Composite materials were used to control the aeroelastic divergent twisting experienced by forward-swept wings, and to reduce weight. The aircraft first flew in 1984, and two X-29s were flight tested through 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Force Research Laboratory</span> Scientific research organization for the US Air Force and US Space Force

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct-energy based aerospace warfighting technologies, planning and executing the Air Force science and technology program, and providing warfighting capabilities to United States air, space, and cyberspace forces. It controls the entire Air Force science and technology research budget which was $2.4 billion in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing X-48</span> Airplane

The Boeing X-48 is an American experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built to investigate the characteristics of blended wing body (BWB) aircraft. Boeing designed the X-48 and two examples were built by Cranfield Aerospace in the UK. Boeing began flight testing the X-48B version for NASA in 2007. The X-48B was later modified into the X-48C version, which was flight tested from August 2012 to April 2013. Boeing and NASA plan to develop a larger BWB demonstrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockwell X-30</span> US NASA & DOD hypersonic project in 1986–1993

The Rockwell X-30 was an advanced technology demonstrator project for the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP), part of a United States project to create a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spacecraft and passenger spaceliner. Started in 1986, it was cancelled in the early 1990s before a prototype was completed, although much development work in advanced materials and aerospace design was completed. While a goal of a future NASP was a passenger liner capable of two-hour flights from Washington to Tokyo, the X-30 was planned for a crew of two and oriented towards testing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockwell HiMAT</span> Type of aircraft

The Rockwell RPRV-870 HiMAT is an experimental remotely piloted aircraft that was produced for a NASA program to develop technologies for future fighter aircraft. Among the technologies explored were close-coupled canards, fully digital flight control, composite materials, remote piloting, synthetic vision systems, winglets, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing</span> Experimental aircraft

The X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) development program is a completed American research project that was undertaken jointly by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing Phantom Works and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, where the technology was flight tested on a modified McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Active Aeroelastic Wing Technology is a technology that integrates wing aerodynamics, controls, and structure to harness and control wing aeroelastic twist at high speeds and dynamic pressures. By using multiple leading and trailing edge controls like "aerodynamic tabs", subtle amounts of aeroelastic twist can be controlled to provide large amounts of wing control power, while minimizing maneuver air loads at high wing strain conditions or aerodynamic drag at low wing strain conditions. This program was the first full-scale proof of AAW technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KAI KF-21 Boramae</span> South Korean fighter aircraft

The KAI KF-21 Boramae is a South Korean-led fighter aircraft development program with the goal of producing an advanced multirole fighter for the South Korean and Emirati air forces. The airframe is stealthier than any fourth-generation fighter, but does not carry weapons in internal bays like fifth-generation fighters, though internal bays may be introduced later in development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell Boeing Quad TiltRotor</span> Proposed four-rotor derivative of the V-22 Osprey

The Bell Boeing Quad TiltRotor (QTR) is a proposed four-rotor derivative of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey developed jointly by Bell Helicopter and Boeing. The concept is a contender in the U.S. Army's Joint Heavy Lift program. It would have a cargo capacity roughly equivalent to the C-130 Hercules, cruise at 250 knots, and land at unimproved sites vertically like a helicopter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin</span> Japanese experimental stealth aircraft

The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin is a Japanese experimental aircraft for testing advanced stealth fighter aircraft technologies. It is being developed by the Japanese Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) for research purposes. The main contractor of the project is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Many consider this aircraft to be Japan's first domestically made stealth fighter. ATD-X is an abbreviation for "Advanced Technology Demonstrator – X". The aircraft is widely known in Japan as Shinshin although the name itself is an early code name within the Japan Self-Defense Forces and is not officially in use. The aircraft's first flight was on 22 April 2016.

The Gulfstream X-54 is a proposed research and demonstration aircraft, under development in the United States by Gulfstream Aerospace for NASA, that is planned for use in sonic boom and supersonic transport research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed Martin X-56</span> Type of aircraft

The Lockheed Martin X-56 is an American modular unmanned aerial vehicle that is being designed to explore High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) flight technologies for use in future military unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

X39 may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA X-57 Maxwell</span> Cancelled experimental NASA electric aircraft

The NASA X-57 Maxwell was an experimental aircraft being developed by NASA, intended to demonstrate technology to reduce fuel use, emissions, and noise. The first flight of the X-57 was scheduled to take place in 2023, but the program was cancelled due to problems with the propulsion system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant</span> Entry for the United States Armys Future Vertical Lift program

The Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant was the Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing entry for the United States Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. It is a compound helicopter with rigid coaxial rotors, powered by two Honeywell T55 turboshaft engines; it first flew on 21 March 2019.

The Sikorsky Raider X is a compound helicopter concept with two coaxial rotors and a single pusher propeller, designed by the Sikorsky Aircraft division of Lockheed Martin for the United States Army Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. The Raider X concept was announced in October 2019. In March 2020, the Army selected the Raider X and the Bell 360 Invictus from a field of five design concept candidates. The Raider X and 360 Invictus concepts will be built as flying prototypes for a competition scheduled for 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi F-X</span> Future Sixth-generation air superiority fighter

The Mitsubishi F-X is a sixth-generation stealth fighter in development for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). It is Japan's first domestically developed stealth fighter jet and will replace the Mitsubishi F-2 by the mid-2030s. Its development is to also bolster the nation's defense industry and potentially enter the international arms market amid Japan's change in defense posture. In October 2020, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was selected as the lead developer.

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