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Advanced / Transformational Technology

DARPA Taps Bell To Build X-Plane Demonstrator, Aims For Flight Testing In 2028

By Matthew Beinart

Wednesday, July 9th, 2025

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DARPA Taps Bell To Build X-Plane Demonstrator, Aims For Flight Testing In 2028

Artist's rendering of Bell's X-plane concept for DARPA's SPRINT program. Photo: Bell.

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Bell [TXT] to build a X-plane demonstrator capable of flying at speeds of up to 450 knots, with the office confirming to Defense Daily it aims to have a platform completed in 2027 to support flight testing in 2028. Bell, which beat out Boeing’s [BA] Aurora Flight Sciences, noted that its work on Phase 2 of the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program will include completing design, construction, ground…

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