
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…