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Air Force

First Flight of DoD Blended Wing Body Aircraft Demonstrator Targeted for 2026

Frank Wolfe

Wednesday, July 27th, 2022

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First Flight of DoD Blended Wing Body Aircraft Demonstrator Targeted for 2026

The NASA and Boeing X-48 blended wing body demonstrator flew 122 times at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California before the program ended in April, 2013 (NASA Photo)

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) hopes to have a blended wing body (BWB) demonstrator aircraft ready to fly by 2026, according to a DIU solicitation. Such an aircraft may save the Pentagon significant fuel costs and could fill niches for the U.S. Air Force for a future cargo aircraft or even the KC-Z tanker, which may incorporate stealth features. Under BWB, the wings are not distinct from the aircraft body but blended into it, and the engine may be on…

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