Manned military aircraft news and discussion

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

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.

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

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.

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

US Air Force fast-tracks B-21 testing timeline by combining test phases
By David Szondy
June 15, 2026
https://newatlas.com/military/us-air-fo ... e-testing/

In another illustration of how defense programs are being fast-tracked, the US Air Force has, for the first time, placed an operational pilot alongside a test pilot early in the flight-testing program for the B-21 Raider nuclear bomber.

Normally, the flight testing of military aircraft follows a well-defined sequence leading up to deployment. Historically, this process can take months or even years. Developmental testing is first carried out by test pilots to verify the airframe's structural integrity, aerodynamic characteristics, performance, and engineering systems. This is followed by operational testing, in which operational test pilots evaluate the aircraft's combat effectiveness, suitability, and survivability in realistic threat environments while crewed by operational personnel.

However, it is that "months or even years" timeline that is giving the Pentagon a bit of an itch. The B-21 represents one of the three legs of the American nuclear deterrence triad, and, given the current geopolitical climate, there is considerable pressure to compress development and testing phases as much as possible.

The latest tranche of tests took place with an operational test pilot from the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) Detachment 5 in the cockpit alongside a developmental test pilot from the Air Force Test Pilot School. The fast-tracking is part of a modernization effort for the B-21 that also encompasses the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile and the F-47 next-generation combat aircraft.

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]