The US Air Force named the aircraft the X-66A, which was developed in partnership with Boeing as part of NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project. The X-66A is also the first X-plane specifically designed to help the US meet the zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions target set out in the White House’s 2021 US Aviation Climate Action Plan.

A NASA press release said the X-66A could now be the foundation for a new generation of sustainable monoplanes, aircraft that are the backbone of passenger air travel. Due to intensive operation, single fuselage aircraft account for about half of aviation greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. This means that an ecological version of such a ship could have a serious impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

“At NASA, our eyes are just stars, but also in the sky. The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator builds on NASA’s world-leading efforts in aerospace and climate,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “The X-66A will help shape and create the future of aviation, a new era of greener, cleaner and quieter aircraft.
new opportunities for both the aviation community and the American industry.”

NASA has signed a Space Financing Agreement with Boeing for the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, in which the space agency will invest $425 million over seven years. NASA will also provide equipment and technical expertise for the project, while Boeing and its partners will provide approximately $725 million in funding. NASA, together with Boeing, will build and fly the X-66A, a full-size demonstration aircraft with ultra-long slender wings stabilized by cross braces, a design called the Transonic Strut Wing.

What is the X plane?

The Air Force grants X aircraft status to development programs such as the X-66A, which aim to create revolutionary experimental aircraft configurations. X-planes, usually reserved for research aircraft, are aimed at testing new designs and new technologies that can be integrated into other aircraft, rather than aircraft designed as prototypes for full production.

“We are incredibly proud of this designation because it means that the X-66A will be the next in a long line of experimental aircraft used to test groundbreaking designs that are changing aviation,” said Boeing Chief Technical Officer Todd Citron. “With the knowledge gained during design, construction and flight testing, we will be able to shape the future of flight and contribute to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.”

In the case of the X-66A, the X-plane status recognizes a transonic scissor blade configuration that, when combined with drivetrain and material improvements, can result in a 30% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions. compared to current “best in class” aircraft.

The aircraft is the latest in a long series of X-planes by NASA dating back to the 1940s, and the precursor to the space agency’s National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which created the experimental aircraft program with the Air Force. and USAF. US Navy. With its emphasis on low emissions, the X-66A could be one of the most important X-planes ever built.

“To achieve our goal of net zero aviation emissions by 2050, we need transformative aircraft concepts like the ones we’re flying in the X-66A,” said Bob Pierce, deputy director of NASA’s Research Aviation Mission Office. With this experimental aircraft, we aim to demonstrate the energy-saving and emission-reducing technologies needed by the aviation industry.”