Citing the potential to combine high speed, long range and long endurance, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has requested proposals to develop an oblique flying wing (OFW) technology demonstrator. The supersonic, tailless unmanned X-plane could fly in 2010.
It’s a weird one for sure – and it’s not yet in the air. This is a flying wing craft without even a hint of a fuselage…
“The trick is that the optimal sway angle depends on the speed of the craft, which means that it has to change during flight… which means that the engines and any sensors/weapons systems on the aircraft have to pivot. Ultimately, there’s talk of building a wing 400 feet long to carry passengers across continents at supersonic speeds.”
Michael Williams »
Flight International.com: DARPA seeks oblique wing design »
