X-Planes Experimental Aircraft | |||||||
| Model | Manufacturer | No. of Vehicles Built | Years of Operation | No. of Flights | Primary Testing Facility Research | Goals | Program Achievements |
| X- 1 | Bell Aircraft | 3 | 1946- 51 | 157 | Edwards AFB | Investigate flight characteristics at greater than sonic velocities. Structural, physiological phenomena within transonic speed envelope | First Mach 1+ flight; Maximum altitude of 71,902 ft |
| X- 1A | Bell Aircraft | 1 | 1953- 55 | 25 | Edwards AFB | Continue X- 1 goals at higher speeds and altitudes | Obtained speed of Mach 2.44; Maximum altitude of 90,440 ft |
| X- 1B | Bell Aircraft | 1 | 1954- 58 | 27 | Edwards AFB | Exploratory aerodynamic heating tests; experimental reaction control system | First reaction controlled flight |
| X- 1D | Bell Aircraft | 1 | 1951 | 1 | Edwards AFB | Continue X- 1 goals at higher speeds and altitudes | No major milestones, Explosion during captive flight; vehicle jettisoned |
| X- 1E | Bell Aircraft, Stanley Aircraft (wings) | 1 | 1955- 58 | 26 | Edwards AFB | High- speed wing performance | Mach 2.24, altitude 73,458 ft; first flight with ventral fins |
| X- 2 | Bell Aircraft | 2 | 1952- 56 | 20 | Edwards AFB | Swept- wing performance; higher speeds and altitude than X- 1 |
New altitude record of
126,200 ft; new speed
record of Mach 2.87 Gasket explosion destroyed first X- 2; second aircraft lost to inertial coupling |
| X- 3 | Douglas Aircraft | 1 | 1954- 56 | 20 | Edwards AFB | High speed aerodynamic phenomenon; titanium construction; take off, land under its own power | Led to understanding of inertia coupling |
| X-4 | Northrop Aircraft | 2 | 1950- 53 | 82 | Edwards AFB | Test tailless, semi- tailless configuration at transonic speeds | Showed tailless craft not suited for transonic flight |
| X- 5 | Bell Aircraft | 2 | 1952- 55 | 133 | Edwards AFB | Investigate aerodynamics of variable- seep- wing design | Successful sweep- wing operation |
| X- 6 | Convair Division, General Dynamics | 1 shield- test aircraft (modified B- 36H) | 1955- 57 | 47 | Convair Testing Facility | Test feasibility of nuclear propulsion | Program terminated before prototypes constructed |
|
X-7A X-7A-3 X-7B X-Q5 (unmanned) | Lockheed Missiles | 61 | 1951- 60 | 130 | New Mexico | Test viability of ramjet engines for anti- aircraft missiles; modified to testing of powerplants | Obtained Mach 4.31, first air- breathing full- scale research aircraft designed as Mach 3 testbed |
|
X- 8A, X- 8B, X- 8C, X- 8D Aerobees (unmanned) | Aerojet Engineering |
108
(X- 8
designation) 800+ Aerobees | 1947- 56 | Unknown | White Sands, Holloman AFB | Upper air research, parachute recovery system | Peak altitude of 121 miles |
| X- 9 (unmanned) | Bell Aircraft | 31 | 1949- 53 | 28 | Holloman AFB | Test air- to- surface missiles; guidance systems, etc. |
First chemical warhead
test vehicle to test
supersonic clusterable
dispersion 9 unsuccessful flights |
| X- 10 (unmanned) | North American Aviation | 13 | 1955- 59 | 15 | Edwards AFB | Testbed for Navaho intercontinental cruise missile components |
Established technology
base for remote
control; first Mach 2-
capable target drone 3 unsuccessful flights Communications disruption; miswiring; autopilot malfunction |
| X- 11 (unmanned) | Convair Astronautics Division | 8 | 1956- 58 | 8 | Cape Canaveral | Provide flight data for Atlas missile | Atlas A First ICBM prototypes |
| X- 12 (unmanned) | Convair Astronautics Division | 5 | 1958 | 5 | Cape Canaveral | Test propulsion- staging guidance system, nose reentry configuration | Atlas B First intercontinental range mission of 6,325 miles |
| X- 13 | Ryan Aeronautical Company | 2 | 1955- 57 | Unknown | Edwards AFB | Test pure- jet vertical takeoff and landing | First successful VTOL flight on jet thrust alone |
|
X- 14, X- 14A, X- 14B | Bell Aircraft | 1 | 1957- 81 | Unknown | Moffet Field | Test VTOL technology | First VTOL aircraft using jet thrust diverter system for vertical lift |
|
X- 15, X- 15A- 2 | North American Aviation | 3 | 1959- 68 | 199 | X- 15 High Range (Wendover, UT, to Edwards AFB) | Explore problems of space and atmospheric flight at very high speeds and altitudes | First manned hyper- sonic flight vehicle; altitude of 354,200 ft obtained; Mach 6.7 reached 4 Mid- flight explosions (2); loss of control (1); collapsed landing gear (1) |
| X-16 | Bell Aircraft | None | None | None | None | High- altitude, long- range reconnaissance aircraft | Canceled |
| X-17 (unmanned) | Lockheed Missiles | 26 | 1955- 57 | 26 | Holloman AFB | Explore reentry characteristics | High Mach effects on reentry vehicles |
| X- 18 | Hiller Aircraft | 1 | 1959- 61 | 20 | Edwards AFB | Explore large VTOL vehicles | First tilt- wing usage for VTOL |
| X- 19 | Curtiss- Wright | 2 | 1964- 65 | 50 | Caldwell; NAFEC, NJ | Test VTOL technology using radial lift | Dual- tandem tilt propeller use One Equipment failure |
| X- 20 | Boeing | Canceled | None | None | None | Piloted orbital flight Provided heat materials testing | |
| X- 21A | Northrop Corporation | 2 | 1963- 64 | Unknown | Edwards AFB | Test full- scale boundary control on large aircraft | Proved Laminar Flow Control viable |
| X- 22A | Bell Aerospace | 2 | 1966- 84 | 501 | Bell, Calspan Test Facilities | Research dual- tandem- ducted propeller configuration; research V/ STOL handling using variable stability system design | Ducted fan viability, advancement of VTOL technology; One hydraulic system failure |
| X- 23A (unmanned) | Martin Marietta | 4 | 1966- 67 | 3 | Vandenberg AFB/ Pacific Ocean | Test configurations, control systems, and ablative materials for hypersonic reentry vehicles | First maneuverable reentry vehicle |
|
X- 24A, X- 24B | Martin Marietta | 1 | 1969- 75 | 64 | Edwards AFB |
Research of aerodynamics,
flight characteristics of
manned vehicle with FDL-
7 configuration [FDL- 7 = Flight Dynamics Laboratory- 7, a prototype test craft of the Air Force's Flight Dynamics Laboratory, a predecessor to the X- 24B]. | Verified theoretical advantages of lifting body configuration for hypersonic trans- atmospheric aircraft |
|
X- 25, X- 25A, X- 25B | Bensen Aircraft | 3 | 1968 | None | Raleigh, NC | Test gyrocopter discretionary descent vehicle designs | Insight on pilot training |
|
X- 26A, X- 26B | Schweizer Aircraft, Lockheed Missiles | 6 | 1967- 88 | Unknown | Vietnam | Develop ultra-quiet surveillance aircraft | Use as training vehicle; contributions to stealth designs |
| X- 27 | Lockheed- California | Canceled | None | None | None | Advanced, lightweight fighter | CL-1200 Lancer |
|
X-28A Osprey 1 | George Pereira, Osprey Aircraft | 1 | 1971 | Unknown | Philadelphia Naval Base, PA | Explore usefulness of small, single- place seaplane for civil police patrol in Southeast Asia | Unique contribution as home- built aircraft in X- Plane program |
| X- 29A | Grumman Aerospace | 2 | 1984- 90 | Unknown | Edwards AFB | Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) demonstrator with technologies to provide maneuver agility during close-in aerial combat. Test forward- swept wing design, advanced composites, other aerodynamic advances | First forward swept wing [FSW] aircraft to fly supersonically in level flight |
| X- 30 | None selected | None | None | None | None | Experimental aerospace plane able to operate at hypersonic velocities or accelerating directly into orbit. Serve as testbed for sustained hypersonic speeds within atmosphere or as space vehicles for orbital payload delivery. | None. Cancelled. |
| X- 31A | Rockwell International, Deutsche Aerospace | 2 | 1990- 95 | 523 | Edwards AFB | Break "stall- barrier," examine angles of attack | 180 degree turn post- stall maneuver Failure of the pitot - static system: erroneous total pressure data |
| X-32 JSF | Boeing | 28 Sept 2000 | X-32A first contractor team full-scale technology demonstrator aircraft intended to validate technologies relevant to fielding a multi-service aircraft X-32B full-scale technology demonstrator aircraft intended to validate technologies relevant to fielding a multi-service aircraft X-32C Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program full-scale technology demonstrator aircraft intended to validate technologies relevant to fielding a multi-service aircraft with catapult and arresting capability | ||||
| X-33 | Lockheed- Martin Skunk Works | 1 | 1999-2000 | 15 | Edwards AFB | Develop reusable single- stage- to- orbit transportation vehicle | |
| X-34 | Orbital Sciences | Reusable technology testbed vehicle to demonstrate technologies for lowering the cost of access to space. Goals included speeds up to Mach 8 and altitudes of 250,000 feet, with $500K/flight recurring cost at a rate of 24 flights in 12 months while maintaining a small work force. | The vehicle structure is an all-composite with a one piece delta wing design 58 feet in length and 28 feet wide. | ||||
| X-35 JSF | Lockheed Martin | 24 Oct 2000 | X-35A first contractor team full-scale technology demonstrator aircraft intended to validate technologies relevant to fielding a multi-service aircraft X-35B full-scale technology demonstrator aircraft intended to validate technologies relevant to fielding a multi-service aircraft X-35C Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program full-scale technology demonstrator aircraft intended to validate technologies relevant to fielding a multi-service aircraft with catapult and arresting capability | ||||
| X-36 | Boeing | 17 May 1997 | Remotely piloted research vehicle used to demonstrate the feasibility for a tailless agile fighter. | ||||
| X-37 Future - X | Boeing | Experimental flight vehicle which will integrate and test earth-to-orbit and orbit-to-orbit reusable space transportation technologies. Designed to be modular to allow for rapid insertion of technologies and experiments. | The X-37 is 27.5eet long - about half the length of the Shuttle payload bay and weighs about 6 tons. Its wingspan is about 15 feet, nd it contains an experiment bay 7 eet long and 4 feet in diameter. | ||||
| X-38 CRV | Scaled Composites | Fall 1997 | Experimental demonstrator for Crew Return Vehicle, droppped from a B-52. Concept model for a crew return vehicle, a "lifeboat" for returning space crew members to earth | ||||
| X-39 | reserved for USAF Research Lab, Future Aircraft Technology Enhancements (FATE) Program | ||||||
| X-40 SMV | Boeing | August 1998 | USAF Space Maneuver Vehicle, dropped to validate autonomous landing | ||||
| X-41 | maneuverable re-entry vehicle | Classified program | |||||
| X-42 | experimental rocket/motor | Classified program | |||||
| X-43 Hyper-X | MicroCraft | scramjet demonstrator vehicle | |||||
| X-44 MANTA | Lockheed Martin/Boeing | MANTA - Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft | |||||
| X-45 UCAV | Boeing | 2nd qtr 2001 | Edwards | Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle | |||
| X-46 | Boeing | F/A-18 "manned surrogat" to test a low-cost approach to the US Navy's naval unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV-N) demonstration | |||||
| X-47 Pegasus UCAV | Northrop Grumman | Naval Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV-N) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) | |||||
| X-48 | Boeing | 3 | 2007-2013 | Blended Wing Body (BWB) | |||
| X-49 Speedhawk | Piasecki Aircraft | 1 | 2007 | compound helicopter | |||
| X-50 Dragonfly | Boeing | 2 | Dec 2003 2004? | US Army Proving Ground, Yuma, AZ | Canard Rotor/Wing (CRW) | ||
| X-51 | Boeing + P&W | Dec 2008 01 May 2013 | Scramjet Engine Demonstrator - WaveRider (SED-WR) | ||||
| X-52 | 0 | Number skipped to avoid confusion with B-52 | |||||
| X-53 | Boeing Phantom Works | 1 | November 2002 - completed in the spring of 2005 | NASA, USAF | Active Aeroelastic Wing testbed. | ||
| X-54 | Gulfstream Aerospace | 0 | TBD | NASA | Future Supersonic transport testbed. | ||
| X-55 ACCA | Lockheed Martin Skunk Works | 1 | June 2, 2009 | USAF | Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA). Molded composite fuselage and empennage testbed. | ||
| X-56 Multi-Use Technology Testbed [MUTT] | Lockheed Martin Skunk Works | 2 | 2013 | USAF/NASA | Active flutter suppression and gust load alleviation technology for potential use in future high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) reconnaissance aircraft. | ||
| X-57 Maxwell Sceptor LEAPTech | TBD | ? | ? | before 2026 | ? | electric motors with blown wing | |
| XQ-58 Valkyrie | TBD | ? | ? | before 2020? | ? | Low-Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD) | |
| X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) | TBD | ? | ? | before 2026 | ? | ||
| X-60 GOLauncher1 hypersonic flight research vehicle | TBD | ? | ? | before 2026 | ? | ||
| X-61 Gremlins | X-61 assigned 2019 | ||||||
| X-62 NF-16D VISTA | X-62 assigned 2021 | ||||||
| X-63 | X-62 un-assigned 2019 | ||||||
| X-?? Blended Wing Body [BWB] | TBD | ? | ? | before 2026 | ? | X-plane designator un-assigned as of 2016, one of several potential aircraft under New Aviation Horizons X-planes plan of 2016 | |
| X-?? Ultra-efficient Subsonic Aircraft [USA] | TBD | ? | ? | before 2026 | ? | double bubble passenger plane | |
| X-?? VTOL X-Plane | |||||||
| X-100 | Curtiss-Wright | 1 | 1958-59 | Caldwell, NJ | demonstrate radial lift | study the effects of downwash | |
|
Key to Acronyms: AFB = Air Force Base ICBM = intercontinental ballistic missile V/STOL = vertical/ short takeoff and landing VTOL = vertical takeoff and landing | |||||||
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