NASA has unveiled its newest experimental aircraft, the X-70 Fractal, during the UP.Summit at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crewed, high-performance research platform is designed to accelerate the development and testing of advanced aviation technologies.

The X-70 features rapidly reconfigurable flight-control technology that NASA says will let it explore aircraft maneuverability in ways not previously demonstrated in crewed flight. It can carry up to 2,000 pounds of experimental payloads in internal and external locations.

According to NASA, the X-70 Fractal has a takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds, is designed to cruise at Mach 0.75, reach altitudes of up to 45,000 feet, and provide an operational range of about 1,726 miles (1,500 nautical miles). NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency expects its first flight under the NASA banner within the next two years.

The X-70 joins a legacy of NASA X-planes that includes the Bell X-1, which first broke the sound barrier in 1947, the X-15 hypersonic research aircraft, and the X-59 quiet supersonic demonstrator.

Source: NASA