Batwing-esque fighter joins field to be US Navy's next fighter
By David Szondy
February 04, 2026
https://newatlas.com/military/stavatti- ... r-batwing/
There's a new contender for the US Navy's F/A-XX Next Generation Air Dominance (NCAD) fighter program to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and it looks like something out of Batman's hangar thanks to a peculiar triple-fuselage design.
The NCAD initiative aims to produce a family of systems to create and support sixth-generation fighter aircraft. This includes the F/A-XX, which is the Navy’s alternative to the US Air Force’s F-47 fighter. That may seem a bit redundant, but the Navy insists that it requires its own multirole, carrier-based aircraft to complement and eventually replace the F-35C Lightning II.
Where the Air Force wants a plane that focuses on air superiority, the Navy wants one that can take on surface attack, air-to-air combat, and electronic warfare missions. In addition, the F/A-XX will need the ability to act as a command center for controlling a swarm of uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), carrying additional weapons and sensors.
Meet DARPA's X-76: The rotorcraft that flies like a jet
By David Szondy
March 09, 2026
https://newatlas.com/military/darpa-x-7 ... -like-jet/
There's a new X-plane in town. Bell Textron's tilt-rotor aircraft being built for DARPA's Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program, which aims to combine the features of a helicopter and a jet, has officially been designated the X-76.
Launched in 1946 with the Bell X-1, the US X-Plane program is a series of aircraft, missiles and rockets built solely to develop advanced aerospace technology rather than production aircraft. Essentially, they are proof-of-concept platforms made in very small numbers that tolerate a higher risk factor than standard aerospace development.
Normally, the numbers assigned to X-planes are sequential, though exceptions are sometimes made for symbolic reasons. This is the case with the X-76, which was named in celebration of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.
