List of experimental aircraft
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As used here, an experimental or research and development aircraft, sometimes also called an X-plane, is one which is designed or substantially adapted to investigate novel flight technologies.


Argentina

* FMA I.Ae. 37 glider – testbed for production fighter


Australia

*
GAF Pika The GAF Jindivik is a radio-controlled target drone produced by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories (GAF). The name is from an Aboriginal Australian word meaning "the hunted one". Two manually-controlled prototypes, were built as the GAF ...
– manned test craft for drone program


Brazil

*
Baumgartl PB-60 __NOTOC__ The Baumgärtl PB-60 was a 1940s experimental single-seat rotor kite designed and built by Austrian designer Paul Baumgartl for the Brazilian Air Ministry. The PB-60 was unpowered and had to be towed to become airborne and fly. It had a ...
– towed experimental rotor kite


Canada

*
AEA Silver Dart The ''Silver Dart'' (or ''Aerodrome #4'') was a derivative of an early aircraft built by a Canadian/U.S. team, which after many successful flights in Hammondsport, New York, earlier in 1908, was dismantled and shipped to Baddeck, Nova Scotia. ...
(1909) – First aircraft to fly in Canada *
Avro Canada Avrocar The Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar was a VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Canada as part of a secret U.S. military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect to provide lift and thrust ...
– Ducted fan VTOL * Birdman Project 102 – * Canadair CL-52 – jet engine testbed (converted Boeing B-47) * Canadair CL-84 Dynavert – tilt-wing VTOL * de Havilland Canada C-8A – Quiet Short-Haul Research Aircraft * de Havilland Canada C-8A – Air-Cushion Landing System * de Havilland Canada C-8A – Augmentor Wing *
Marsden Gemini The Marsden Gemini is a Canadian mid-wing, T-tailed, two-seats in side-by-side configuration, Experimental aircraft, experimental research Glider (sailplane), glider that was designed and constructed by David Marsden at the University of Albert ...
– variable-geometry glider *
NRC tailless glider The NRC tailless glider, also called the NRL tailless glider, was a two-seat tailless research glider designed by the National Research Council of Canada and built by the National Research Laboratories, at the instigation of G.T.R. Hill who had ...
– tailless flying wing *
UTIAS Ornithopter No.1 __NOTOC__ The UTIAS Ornithopter No.1 (Aircraft registration, registration ''C-GPTR'') is an ornithopter that was built in Canada in the late 1990s. On 8 July 2006, it took off under its own power, assisted by a turbine jet engine, making a flight ...


France

* Aérocentre NC.130 1939 – High-altitude flight *
Aérospatiale Ludion The Sud Aviation/Aérospatiale SA-610 Ludion (''Ludion'' - Cadet) was a tiny, unorthodox VTOL aircraft demonstrated at the 1967 Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourg ...
1967 – Thrust vectored rocket VTOL *
Arsenal-Delanne 10 The Arsenal-Delanne 10 was an experimental fighter aircraft of French origin. The plane had a rear cockpit and a distinctive tandem wing. Design and development The Arsenal-Delanne 10-C2 two-seat fighter, designed by Maurice Delanne and bu ...
– Tandem wing * Arsenal VG 70 – High speed research * Arsenal O.101 – Aerodynamic research * Arsenal 2301/SFECMAS 2301 and SFECMAS 1301 – Supersonic research glider * Breguet-Dorand Gyroplane Laboratoire – Experimental helicopter * Breguet-Richet Gyroplane – Experimental helicopter * – Monoplane testbed *
Dassault Balzac V The Dassault Balzac V was a French vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) testbed of the early 1960s. It was built by Dassault Aviation from a prototype Mirage III aircraft to test the configuration for the Mirage IIIV. The sole example was badly ...
– VTOL testbed *
Dassault Mirage IIIV The Dassault Mirage IIIV, also spelled Mirage III V, was a French vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) prototype fighter aircraft of the mid-1960s developed and produced by Dassault Aviation. The Mirage IIIV was a VTOL derivative of an existi ...
– VTOL testbed *
Dassault Milan The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...
– Canard research *
Dassault Mirage G The Dassault Mirage G was a French two-seat twinjet variable-geometry prototype fighter, built by Dassault Aviation in the late 1960s. The type was further developed into the twin-engine Mirage G4 and G8 variants as a multi-role jet fighter capa ...
– Variable geometry *
Dassault LOGIDUC The Dassault LOGIDUC – sometimes spelled Logiduc in French and LogiDuc in English – (''Logique de Développement d'UCAV'', French for "Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle development solution") was an autonomous industrial program launched in 1999 by ...
Unmanned combat aerial vehicle UCAV development * Dassault nEUROn – UCAV technology demonstrator * Farman F.1010 – Heavy cannon flight testing * Farman F.1020 – Semi-circular wing *
Fouga Gemeaux The Fouga CM.88 Gemeaux was a 1950s French engine test-bed aircraft produced by Fouga. An unusual aircraft, it was two aircraft joined by a common wing. Design and development To meet a requirement to use as an engined testbed for Turbomeca tur ...
– Engine testbed * Gastambide-Levavasseur Variable Surface Aircraft – Variable chord wing testbed *
Gérin Varivol Gérin is a French language, French surname. Notable people with this name include: *Gérin, one of the paladins of Charlemagne's court *André Gerin (born 1946), French politician *Elzéar Gérin (1843–1887), Canadian politician *François Gér ...
– Variable chord wing testbed *
Hanriot HD.28 __NOTOC__ The Hanriot HD.28 was a military trainer aircraft developed in France in the 1920s as a modernised version of the HD.14 for export markets. The principal difference between the types was that while the HD.14 had an entirely wooden struc ...
– tested a Vee tail *
Hurel-Dubois HD.10 The Hurel-Dubois HD.10 was a French research aircraft first flown in 1948 to investigate Maurice Hurel's ideas about high aspect ratio wings. It was a single-seat monoplane with retractable tricycle undercarriage and twin tails, featuring a very ...
– Very high aspect ratio wings *
Leduc 0.10 The Leduc 0.10 was a research aircraft built in France, one of the world's first aircraft to fly powered solely by a ramjet. Design and development Designed by René Leduc in 1938, it was built at the Breguet Aviation factory after a protracted, ...
– Ramjet * Leduc 0.21 – Ramjet * Makhonine Mak-10 – Variable span wing * Messier Monoplace Laboratorie – Retractable bicycle undercarriage testbed. * Nord 500 – VTOL tilt ducted fan research aircraft * Nord 1402/1405 Gerfaut – Delta wing research aircraft *
Nord 1500 Griffon The Nord 1500 Griffon was an experimental ramjet-powered interceptor aircraft designed and built by French state-owned aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. The Griffon was developed to become a Mach 2 follow on to the supersonic Nord Gerfaut ...
– Ramjet * Nord 1601 – Swept wing research aircraft *
Payen PA-22 The Payen PA-22 was a French experimental aircraft designed by Nicolas Roland Payen. The aircraft had an unconventional design: it had a set of delta wings, in front of which were a set of short conventional wings. It had a fixed front land ...
– Tandem delta/normal wings *
Payen Pa 49 The Payen Pa 49 Katy was a small Experimental aircraft, experimental France, French turbojet powered tailless aircraft, designed by Nicolas Roland Payen, and first flown in 1954. It was the first French aircraft of this kind and the smallest jet ...
– Tandem delta/normal wings * Potez-CAMS 160 – 5/13th scale six engine aerodynamic testbed for development of CAMS 161 * Robin X4 – Materials and configuration testbed *
SNECMA Atar Volant The SNECMA Atar Volant or C.400 P1 was a French turbojet engine produced by SNECMA as part of their "Atar" series. Encased in a basic fairing which could hold fuel and remote-control equipment, the unit weighed 5,600  pounds (2550 kg ...
– Vertical lift jet *
SNECMA Coléoptère The SNECMA C.450 Coléoptère (meaning "beetle" in French, descended from Greek for "sheathed wing") was a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that was designed by the French company SNECMA and manufactured by Nord Aviation. While w ...
– Vertical lift
annular wing A closed wing is a wing that effectively has two main planes which merge at their ends so that there are no conventional wing tips. Closed wing designs include the annular wing (commonly known as the cylindrical or ring wing), the joined wing, ...
* Sud Est SE-1210 scale aerodynamic testbed for SE-1200 transatlantic flying boat * Sud-Ouest Ariel – Tip-jet rotor helicopter * Sud-Ouest Farfadet – Convertiplane *
Sud-Ouest Triton The Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Triton was an early experimental French jet aircraft. It has the distinction of being the first indigenously-designed jet-powered aircraft to be flown by the nation, having been designed and manufactured during the 1940s by t ...
– First French jet aircraft


Germany

* Akaflieg Berlin B 9 1943. – Prone pilot *
Albatros L.81 An albatross is one of a family of large winged seabirds. Albatross or Albatros may also refer to: Animals * Albatross (butterfly) or ''Appias'', a genus of butterfly * Albatross (horse) (1968–1998), a Standardbred horse Literature * Albatr ...
– Elektron metal structure testbed * AVA AF 1 – Augumented lift * DFS 194 1940 – Tailless rocket aircraft used in development of
Me 163 The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as ...
*
DFS 346 The DFS 346 (''Samolyot 346'') was a German rocket-powered swept-wing aircraft which began development during World War II in Germany. It was designed by Felix Kracht at the ''Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug'' (DFS), the "German Ins ...
1948 – Supersonic reconnaissance aircraft used for research *
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, a ...
TransSonische Tragflügel (TST) – Transonic supercritical wing research *
Dornier Do 29 The Dornier Do 29 was an experimental aircraft developed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke and the ''Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt'' (German Aviation Laboratory) in the 1950s, used to test a tilting-propeller system for short takeoff and land ...
– Tilt rotor STOL *
Dornier Do 31 The Dornier Do 31 is an experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet-propelled transport designed and produced by West German aircraft manufacturer Dornier. The development of the Do 31 was motivated principally by heavy interest exp ...
– Experimental VTOL transport *
EWR VJ 101 The EWR VJ 101 was an experimental German jet fighter vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) tiltjet aircraft. VJ stood for ''Versuchsjäger'', (German for "Experimental Fighter"). The VJ 101 was one of the first V/STOL designs to have the potential f ...
– Experimental tiltjet VTOL fighter *
Fieseler Fi 158 The Fieseler Fi 158 was a civilian research aircraft designed and built in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...
– Testbed for radio control system *
Flettner airplane A Flettner airplane is a type of rotor airplane which uses a Flettner rotor to provide lift. The rotor comprises a spinning cylinder with circular end plates and, in an aircraft, spins about a spanwise horizontal axis. When the aircraft moves ...
Magnus effect The Magnus effect is an observable phenomenon commonly associated with a spinning object moving through a fluid. The path of the spinning object is deflected in a manner not present when the object is not spinning. The deflection can be expl ...
test vehicle *
Flettner Fl 185 The Flettner Fl 185 was an experimental German gyrodyne developed by Anton Flettner, a machine which could fly both as a helicopter and as a gyroplane. Design and development This aircraft was developed in 1936 with support of the ''Kriegsmarine ...
Gyrodyne A gyrodyne is a type of VTOL aircraft with a helicopter rotor-like system that is driven by its engine for takeoff and landing only, and includes one or more conventional propeller (aircraft), propeller or jet engines to provide forward thrust d ...
*
Focke-Wulf F 19 The Focke-Wulf F 19 ''Ente'' (German: "Duck") was a German experimental "canard" aircraft in the late 1920s. Design The F 19 Ente was a high-wing monoplane with a canard layout and fixed tricycle undercarriage. The pilot sat in an open cockpit ...
– Multi-engined canard demonstrator * Fokker V.1 – Structures and aerodynamics testbed *
Göppingen Gö 8 The Göppingen Gö 8 was a 1/5 scale model of the Dornier Do 214, a large projected trans-atlantic long-range flying boat, designed by Dornier Werke GmbH in Germany during World War II. The Gö 8 was used primarily to validate the hydro-dynamic ...
– Development aircraft for Do 214 *
Göppingen Gö 9 The Göppingen Gö 9 was a German research aircraft built to investigate the practicalities of powering a plane using a pusher propeller located far from the engine and turned by a long driveshaft. Design and development In 1937, Claudius Dor ...
– Pusher (behind tail) aerodynamic testbed for
Dornier Do 335 The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater"). The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other ...
development *
Gotha Go 147 The Gotha Go 147 was a German experimental two-seat tailless aircraft designed in 1936 by Gothaer Waggonfabrik and Dr. A. Kupper. Two examples were built and flown. Development was abandoned before the start of World War II. Design and development ...
– Tailless research aircraft *
Heinkel He 119 The Heinkel He 119 was an experimental single-propeller monoplane with two coupled engines, developed in Germany. A private venture by Heinkel to test radical ideas by the Günter brothers, the He 119 was originally intended to act as an unarme ...
– High-performance research aircraft *
Heinkel He 176 The Heinkel He 176 was a German rocket-powered aircraft. It was the world's first aircraft to be propelled solely by a liquid-fueled rocket, making its first powered flight on 20 June 1939 with Erich Warsitz at the controls. It was a private ...
– Rocket research aircraft *
Heinkel He 178 The Heinkel He 178 was an experimental aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. It was the world's first aircraft to fly using the thrust from a turbojet engine. The He 178 was developed to test the jet propu ...
– Jet engine research aircraft *
Horten H.III The Horten H.III was a flying wing sailplane built by Walter and Reimar Horten in Germany from 1937 to 1944. Design The H.III series was an incremental development of the Horten H.II with reduced sweepback of 23°, span increased to 20 m (6 ...
– Flying wing *
Horten H.IV The Horten H.IV was a German tailless flying wing glider in which the pilot was to lie in a prone position to reduce the frontal area, and hence drag. It was designed by Reimar and Walter Horten in Göttingen. Four were built between 1941 an ...
– Flying wing * Horten Ho VI – Flying wing *
Junkers J 1 The Junkers J 1, nicknamed the ''Blechesel'' ("Tin Donkey" or "Sheet Metal Donkey"), was an experimental monoplane aircraft developed by Junkers & Co. It was the world's first all-metal aircraft. Manufactured early on in the First World War, ...
– Pioneering all-metal cantilever monoplane (1915) *
Junkers EF 61 The Junkers EF 61 was a German prototype twin-engined high-altitude bomber aircraft of the 1930s. Only two examples were built, but it provided valuable information on pressure cabins which aided the design of later pressurised aircraft. Design ...
– Pressurization *
Junkers Ju 49 The Junkers Ju 49 was a German aircraft designed to investigate high-altitude flight and the techniques of cabin pressurization. It was the world's second working pressurized aircraft, following the Engineering Division USD-9A which first flew i ...
– High-altitude test aircraft * Lippisch Delta IV – Delta wing *
Lippisch DM-1 The Lippisch DM-1 was a single-seat research glider that was designed and built in Germany from 1944. Development During World War II, Dr. Alexander Lippisch proposed a ramjet propelled point defence fighter, the Lippisch P.12/13a. It was ...
1944 – Delta wing glider *
Lippisch Ente The Ente (german: duck) was the world's first full-sized rocket-powered aircraft. It was designed by Alexander Lippisch as a sailplane and first flown under power on June 11, 1928, piloted by Fritz Stamer as part of the Opel-RAK rocket progra ...
– Rocket-powered canard technology demonstrator * Lippisch P.13a – Coal-powered delta wing *
Messerschmitt Me P.1101 The Messerschmitt P.1101 was a single-seat, single- jet fighter project of World War II, developed as part of the 15 July 1944 Emergency Fighter Program which sought a second generation of jet fighters for the Third Reich. A prominent feature ...
– Variable geometry (swing-wing) jet *
Opel RAK.1 The Opel RAK.1 (also known as the Opel RAK.3) was the world's first purpose-built rocket-powered aircraft. It was designed and built by Julius Hatry under commission from Fritz von Opel, who flew it on September 30, 1929 in front of a large crowd ...
– Rocket propulsion technology demonstrator *
RFB X-113 The RFB X-113 Aerofoil Boat was an experimental ground effect vehicle intended to work over water. It was one of three such aircraft designed by Alexander Lippisch in the 1960s and early 1970s. The X-113 first flew in 1970; only one was built. ...
– Wing in ground effect vehicle *
RFB X-114 The RFB X-114 was a Ground effect (aerodynamics), ground-effect craft, designed chiefly to operate over water but capable of flight at higher altitudes where required, carrying five or six passengers or freight along coasts and capable of surveil ...
– Wing in ground effect vehicle *
Sack AS-6 The Sack AS-6 was a German prototype circular-winged aircraft built privately during the Second World War. Design and development In July 1938, local farmer Arthur Sack entered his AS-1 circular-winged model in the first Reich-Wide Contest fo ...
– Disk wing technology demonstrator * Schmeidler SN.2 – Wing flaps *
VFW VAK 191B The VFW VAK 191B was an experimental German vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) strike fighter of the early 1970s. VAK was the abbreviation for ''Vertikalstartendes Aufklärungs- und Kampfflugzeug'' (Vertical Take-off Reconnaissance and Strike ...
– VTOL fighter *
Zeppelin-Lindau V I The Zeppelin-Lindau V I was a metal-framed, pusher configuration, German sesquiplane, designed by Claude Dornier. It flew on 13 November 1916 and crashed on the first flight. Design and development It was designed by Claude Claudius Dornier, Do ...
– All-metal stressed skin construction


Italy

*
Ambrosini Sagittario __NOTOC__ The Ambrosini Sagittario was an Italian aerodynamic research aircraft based on the manufacturer's S.7. New swept wings and tail surfaces of wooden construction were fitted to the S.7 fuselage. The wing leading edge was swept at 45 de ...
1953 – Swept wing research aircraft * Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante 1936 – Human-powered aircraft * Caproni Campini N.1 1940 – Jet engine research *
Jona J-6 The Jona J-6 was an experimental Italian sesquiplane built in 1936 to demonstrate a novel, tilting wing stabilisation system. A military trainer development without the moving wing was produced in small numbers. Design and development The Jona ...
– Tilting wing stabilisation system *
Lualdi-Tassotti ES 53 The Lualdi-Tassotti ES 53 was an Italian experimental helicopter designed by Carlo Lualdi around a Hiller-designed rotor system and a gyro stabiliser of his own design. It first flew at Campoformido in September 1953. The helicopter was powered ...
– Gyro stabilized helicopter *
Piaggio P.111 The Piaggio P.111 was an Italian high-altitude research aircraft designed and built by Piaggio for the '' Regia Aeronautica'' (Italian Royal Air Force). Design and development The genesis of the P.111 was in 1938, when the ''Regia Aeronautica'' ...
High-altitude research There are a wide range of potential applications for research at high altitude, including medical, physiological, and cosmic physics research. High-altitude medical research The most obvious and direct application of high-altitude research is to ...
* S.C.A. SS.2 – Experimental canard * S.C.A. SS.3 Anitra – Experimental canard * Stipa-Caproni – Ducted prop research


Poland

* Flugtechnische Fertigungsgemeinschaft Prag FGP 227 – Scale proof of concept for German BV 238 * Lala-1 – Jet biplane testbed for
PZL M-15 Belphegor The PZL M-15 was a jet-powered biplane designed and manufactured by the Polish aircraft company WSK PZL-Mielec for agricultural aviation. In reference to both its strange looks and relatively loud jet engine, the aircraft was nicknamed ''Belph ...


Japan

*
Gasuden Koken The Gasuden Koken (also known as the ) was a Japanese long-range research aircraft of the 1930s. It was built by the Tokyo Gas and Electric Industry (also known as Gasuden), to break the world record for longest flight, setting a closed circuit ...
1937 – Long range experimental aircraft *
Honda MH02 The Honda MH02 was an experimental business jet built by Honda, in cooperation with Mississippi State University, to research engine placement and composite construction. The prototype was completed in 1992, making its first flight on 5 March 1 ...
1993 – Over wing engines, forward swept wing * Kawasaki Ki-78 1942 – High speed research aircraft * Kayaba Ku-2 1940 – Tailless glider * Kayaba Ku-3 – Tailless glider *
Kayaba Ku-4 The Kayaba Ku-4 was a research aircraft built in Japan in 1940 to investigate the possibilities of tailless aircraft designs. It followed designer Hidemasa Kimura's successful Kayaba Ku-2, Ku-2 and Kayaba Ku-3, Ku-3 designs for the Imperial Japa ...
– Tailless research aircraft * Kimura HK-1 – Tailless glider * Mitsubishi RP-1 – Experimental helicopter * MXY-6 – Canard scale testbed for Kyushu J7W * X1G – High-lift device based on Saab 91 Safir * National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) Asuka
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
* Shin Meiwa UF-XS – Proof of concept demonstrator for Shin Meiwa US-1A * Mitsubishi T-2CCV - Experimental aircraft for CCV technology *
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin (, formerly the ATD-X) is a Japanese experimental aircraft for testing advanced stealth fighter aircraft technologies. It is being developed by the Japanese Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development In ...
– Advanced stealth technology demonstrator


Russia/Soviet Union

* Alexeyev – Ekranoplans *
Antonov A-40 The Antonov A-40 ''Krylya Tanka'' (russian: крылья танка, meaning "tank wings") was a Soviet attempt to allow a tank to glide onto a battlefield after being towed aloft by an airplane, to support airborne forces or partisans.Winc ...
1942 – Tank glider *
Antonov 181 Antonov built product 181 ( ukr, Виріб 181, rus, изделие 181) was a Soviet experimental aeroplane rolled-out at the end of the 1980s. History The Antonov An-181 (or product 181) project was terminated due to the lack of funds followi ...
– Blown channel wing demonstrator *
Bartini Beriev VVA-14 The Bartini Beriev VVA-14 ''Vertikaľno-Vzletayushchaya Amfibiya'' ( vertical take-off amphibious aircraft) was a wing-in-ground-effect aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the early 1970s. Designed to be able to take off from the w ...
1972 – Ekranoplan ground effect vehicle *
Bartini Stal-6 The Bartini Stal-6, was a single-engined experimental aircraft designed, built and tested in the USSR from 1930. Development After joining the OOS (''Otdel Opytnogo Samolyetostroeniya'' - section for experimental aircraft construction), Bartini ...
– High speed aircraft *
Chyeranovskii BICh-3 The BICh-3 (russian: БИЧ-3) was a tailless research aircraft designed and built in the USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia f ...
– Tailless delta research aircraft * Chyeranovskii BICh-11 – Flying wing to test wingtip rudders * Chyeranovskii BICh-16 – Human-powered ornithopter * Chyeranovskii BICh-18 – Human-powered ornithopter *
Chizhevski BOK-1 The BOK-1 (''Byuro Osobykh Konstrooktsiy'' - bureau of special design), (a.k.a. SS (''Stratosfernii Samolyet'' – stratospheric aircraft)), was an experimental high-altitude aircraft designed and built in the USSR from 1934. Development The B ...
– High-altitude research aircraft * Chizhevski BOK-5 – Tailless research aircraft *
Grigorovich I-Z The Grigorovich I-Z was a fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. Advances in aircraft survivability thanks to all-metal construction and self-sealing and inert gas-filled fuel tanks led to experimentation with large-cali ...
– Recoilless cannon evaluation * Grushin Octyabrenok – Tandem wing *
Ilyushin Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a comm ...
LL – Engine testbeds (5) *
Kozlov PS The Yakovlev AIR-3 was a 1920s Soviet Union, Soviet two-seat general aviation monoplane designed and built by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Yakovlev. Development Following his design of the earlier Yakovlev AIR-1, AIR-1 and AIR-2, Yakovlev was taken on ...
– Visiblity (covered in transparent material) * MAI EMAI – Magnesium construction *
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-8 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-8 ''Utka'' (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-8 «Утка», "duck") was a Soviet experimental aircraft. Built of wood, the aircraft was designed and built in 1945 to test the novel canard configuration. I ...
''Utka'' – Pusher canard proof of concept (1945) *
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105, part of the Spiral program, was a crewed test vehicle to explore low-speed handling and landing. It was a visible result of a Soviet project to create an orbital spaceplane. The MiG 105 was nicknamed "Lapot" (russi ...
– Lifting body *
Mikoyan Project 1.44 The Mikoyan Project 1.44/1.42 (russian: link=no, Микоян МиГ-1.44; NATO reporting name: Flatpack) was a multirole fighter technology demonstrator developed by the Mikoyan design bureau. It was designed for the Soviet Union's MFI (''M ...
– Technology demonstrator * Mikoyan-Gurevich N – Mixed propulsion system *
Moskalyev SAM-9 Strela The Moskalyev SAM-9 (Arrow) was a one-off, Soviet, 1930s experimental tailless aircraft designed to test the characteristics of a leaf-shaped low-aspect-ratio delta wing. Design and development As early as 1933, Aleksandr Moskalyev was designin ...
– Delta wing * NIAI RK – Telescopic wings * NIAI RK-I – Telescopic wings *
Nikitin PSN-2 The Nikitin PSN-2, (''Planer Spetsial'nogo Naznachenaya'' - glider for special purpose) was a single seat Glider aircraft, glider bomb research aircraft designed and produced in the USSR from 1934. Development The PSN-2 was a glider floatplane d ...
– Glider bombers * Sukhanov Diskoplan – Disk wings *
Sukhoi T-10 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation je ...
– Technology demonstrator * Sukhoi T-58VD – VTOL research aircraft * Sukhoi Su-47 – Technology demonstrator *
Thermoplan The Thermoplan is a given name of the prototype of Russian lenticular-shaped hybrid airship. Design features The key feature of Thermoplan is its combined structure with primary section having a torus of revolution shape (one variant was to ...
– Heavy lift lenticular-shaped
hybrid airship A hybrid airship or plimp is a powered aircraft that obtains some of its lift as a lighter-than-air (LTA) airship and some from aerodynamic lift as a heavier-than-air aerodyne. A ''dynastat'' is a hybrid airship with fixed wings and/or a liftin ...
technology demonstrator * Tsybin LL – Forward swept wing *
Tsybin NM-1 The Tsybin RSR (''Reactivnyy Strategicheskiy Razvedchik'', Cyrillic ''Реактивный Стратегический Разведчик'', Russian for "jet strategic reconnaissance") was a Soviet design for an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 s ...
– Proof of concept *
Tupolev Tu-95LAL The Tupolev Tu-95LAL (russian: Летающая Атомная Лаборатория, translit=Letayushchaya Atomnaya Laboratoriya, lit=flying atomic laboratory) was an experimental aircraft that was a modified Tupolev Tu-95 Soviet bomber aircra ...
– Nuclear-powered aircraft * Ushakov – Flying submarines *
Yakovlev Yak-36 The Yakovlev Yak-36, also known as ''Izdeliye V'', (NATO reporting name "Freehand") is a Soviet technology demonstrator for a VTOL combat aircraft. Design and development From 1960, the Yakovlev Design Bureau began work on a VTOL system, using ...
– VTOL technology demonstrator *
Yakovlev Yak-42 The Yakovlev Yak-42 (russian: Яковлев Як-42; NATO reporting name: "Clobber") is a 100/120-seat three-engined mid-range passenger jet developed in the mid 1970s to replace the technically obsolete Tupolev Tu-134. It was the first airli ...
LL – Progress D-236
propfan A propfan, also called an open rotor engine, or unducted fan (as opposed to a ducted fan), is a type of aircraft engine related in concept to both the turboprop and turbofan, but distinct from both. The design is intended to offer the speed an ...
engine testbed *
Yakovlev Yak-1000 The Yakovlev Yak-1000 was a Soviet supersonic technology demonstrator intended to evaluate the aerodynamic layout and field performance of the cropped delta wing discussed in captured German documents in combination with the new Lyulka AL-5 t ...
– Supersonic technology demonstrator *
Zveno project Zveno (Russian: Звено, a military unit "Flight") was a parasite aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. It consisted of a Tupolev TB-1 or a Tupolev TB-3 heavy bomber mothership and two to five fighters. Depending on the varian ...
– Parasite fighters


Spain

*
Cierva C.4 __NOTOC__ The Cierva C.4 was an experimental autogiro built by Juan de la Cierva in Spain in 1922 which early the following year became the first autogyro to fly successfully. Failures of De la Cierva's attempts to compensate for dissymmetry of l ...
1923 – Experimental autogyro, first to fly *
Cierva C.6 The Cierva C.6 was the sixth autogyro designed by engineer Juan de la Cierva, and the first one to travel a "major" distance. Juan de la Cierva, 1st Count of la Cierva, Cierva, the engineer responsible for the invention of the autogyro, had spe ...
1924 – Experimental autogyro


Sweden

* Saab 201 - Aerodynamic testbed for
Saab 29 Tunnan The Saab 29 ''Tunnan'', colloquially ''Flygande tunnan'' or just ''Tunnan'' ( en, "The flying barrel", "The barrel"),. is a Swedish fighter that was designed and manufactured by Saab in the late 1940s. It was the second turbojet-powered comb ...
* Saab 202 – Aerodynamic testbed for
Saab 32 Lansen The Saab 32 Lansen (English: Lance) is a two-seat, transonic military aircraft designed and manufactured by Saab AB from 1955 to 1960 for the Swedish Air Force (''Flygvapnet''). Three principal variants of the Lansen were built for attack (A 32A ...
*
Saab 210 The Saab 210 is an approximately 70% scale research prototype for the double- delta configuration of the Saab 35 Draken supersonic fighter. Although never officially named anything but Draken by Saab, it soon became known by its unofficial nicknam ...
1952 – Aerodynamic testbed for double delta concept for
Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air fo ...


Switzerland

*
Solar Impulse Project Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project, and also the name of the project's two operational aircraft. The privately financed project is led by Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg and Swiss p ...
– Solar power technology demonstrator


United Kingdom

* Armstrong Whitworth Ape 1926 – Variable configuration aerodynamic test vehicle *
Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 was an early flying wing aircraft designed and produced by British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. The A.W.52 emerged out of wartime research into the laminar flow airfoil, which indicated th ...
1947 – Jet powered flying wing * Avro 707 1949 – Aerodynamic proof of concept for
Avro Vulcan The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and ...
delta wing bomber * Avro Ashton – Jet engine research vehicle based on
Avro Tudor The Avro Type 688 Tudor was a British piston-engined airliner based on Avro's four-engine Lincoln bomber, itself a descendant of the famous Lancaster heavy bomber, and was Britain's first pressurised airliner. Customers saw the aircraft as ...
* BAC 221 – High speed delta wing research *
Baynes Bat The Baynes Bat (or sometimes Slingsby-Baynes Bat) was an experimental glider of the Second World War, designed by L. E. Baynes. It was used to test the tailless design that he had suggested as a means to convert tanks into temporary gliders s ...
– Experimental tailless glider * Blackburn B-20 – Retractable hull seaplane * Boulton Paul P.6 – Wing research *
Boulton Paul P.92 The Boulton Paul P.92 was a British design by Boulton Paul for a two-seat, turret-armed, twin-engine heavy fighter and ground attack aircraft to meet Air Ministry Specification F.11/37. Only a half scale prototype – the P.92/2 – was built an ...
– Half-scale proof of concept for turret fighter * Boulton Paul P.111 – Delta-wing research aircraft *
Boulton Paul P.120 The Boulton Paul P.120 was a research aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Boulton Paul. It was the last aircraft design by the company to be flown. The P.120 was developed to investigate the aerodynamic propert ...
– Delta-wing research aircraft * Bristol 138 – High-altitude research aircraft *
Bristol 188 The Bristol 188 is a British supersonic research aircraft built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the 1950s. Its length, slender cross-section and intended purpose led to its being nicknamed the "Flaming Pencil".
– High speed flight research *
British Aerospace EAP The British Aerospace EAP (standing for ''Experimental Aircraft Programme'') was a British technology demonstrator aircraft developed by aviation company British Aerospace (BAe) as a private venture. It was designed to research technologies to ...
– Technology demonstrator * Cierva W.9 – Experimental helicopter with anti-torque jet efflux *
de Havilland DH 108 The de Havilland DH 108 "Swallow" was a British experimental aircraft designed by John Carver Meadows Frost in October 1945. The DH 108 featured a tailless, swept wing with a single vertical stabilizer, similar to the layout of the wartime ...
Swallow – Swept wing tailless transsonic research aircraft * English Electric P.1A – Supersonic research aircraft *modified
Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hi ...
– Engine testbed for
Rolls-Royce Exe The Rolls-Royce Exe, or Boreas, was a 24-cylinder air-cooled X block sleeve valve aircraft engine intended primarily for the new Fairey Fleet Air Arm aircraft, particularly the Fairey Barracuda. The Exe was relatively powerful for its era, ...
, Fairey Prince (H-16) and
Napier Dagger The Napier Dagger was a 24-cylinder H-pattern ''(or H-Block)'' air-cooled engine designed by Frank Halford and built by Napier before World War II. It was a development of the earlier Napier Rapier. Design and development The H-Block has a ...
. *
Fairey Delta 1 The Fairey Delta 1 (FD1) was a research aircraft developed and produced by British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It holds the distinction of being the first British-designed aircraft to be furnished with a delta wing. Initially referr ...
– Delta-wing research aircraft *
Fairey Delta 2 The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 (internal designation Type V within Fairey) is a British supersonic research aircraft that was produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for a specialised aircra ...
– Delta-wing research aircraft *
Fairey Jet Gyrodyne The Fairey Jet Gyrodyne is a British experimental compound gyroplane built by the Fairey Aviation Company that incorporated helicopter, gyrodyne and autogyro characteristics. The Jet Gyrodyne was the subject of a Ministry of Supply (MoS) resear ...
– Jet-powered rotor technology demonstrator * Folland Fo.108 – Engine test bed * General Aircraft GAL.56 – Tailless swept wing glider * Gloster E.28/39 – Jet engine research *
Gloster Meteor F8 "Prone Pilot" A much modified Gloster Meteor F8 fighter, the "prone position/prone pilot" Meteor, was used by the Royal Air Force in 1954 and 1955 to evaluate the effects of acceleration/inertia-induced forces while flying in a prone position. Along with the ...
– Prone position flight control research * Gloster Trent Meteor – Turboprop propulsion *
Hafner A.R.III Gyroplane The Hafner A.R.III Gyroplane was a British 1930s experimental autogyro designed by Austrian Raoul Hafner, and built by the A.R.III Construction Company at Denham, Buckinghamshire. Design and development The single-seat Gyroplane had a three-b ...
– Experimental autogyro * Handley Page H.P.17 – Aerodynamic slot research * Handley Page H.P.20 – Aerodynamic slot research * Handley Page H.P.75 Manx – Tailless flight research *
Handley Page HP.88 The Handley Page HP.88 was a British research aircraft, built in the early 1950s for Handley Page to test the aerodynamics of the Victor crescent wing design, and was intended to be a scaled-down version of that aircraft. Development The sin ...
Handley Page Victor The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and final '' V bomber'' to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the Avro ...
aerodynamic testbed *
Handley Page HP.115 The Handley Page HP.115 was a experimental delta wing aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It was built to test the low-speed handling characteristics to be expected from the slender delta configu ...
– Low speed delta-wing research *
Hawker P.1052 The Hawker P.1052 was a British experimental aircraft built by Hawker Aircraft, Hawker Aircraft Limited for trials with swept wings. Design and development The origins of the P.1052 were in a 1945 design study by the Hawker design team for a ...
– Swept wing testbed * Hawker P.1072 – Armstrong Siddeley Snarler rocket booster testbed * Hawker P.1127 – V/STOL technology demonstrator, led to
Hawker Harrier The Hawker Harrier was an experimental biplane torpedo bomber aircraft built by Hawker Aircraft to a specification issued in the 1920s for the RAF. Development In 1925, the British Air Ministry laid down specifications for a high altitude ...
*
Hillson Bi-mono The Hillson Bi-mono was a British experimental aircraft of the 1940s. It was designed to test the idea of "slip-wings", where the aircraft could take off as a biplane, jettison the upper, disposable wing, and continue flying as a monoplane. A ...
– Slip-wing research *
Hunting H.126 The Hunting H.126 was an experimental aircraft designed and built by British aviation company Hunting Aircraft. The aircraft was developed in order to test the performance of blown flaps, which were commonly known in Britain as "jet flaps", At ...
– Blown flap research * Miles M.3E Gillette Falcon – High speed flight research * Miles M.30 – Blended wing body design * Miles M.35 Libellula – Tandem-wing fighter testbed *
Miles M.39B Libellula The M.39B Libellula (from Libellulidae, a Family (biology), taxonomic family of dragonfly, dragonflies) was a Second World War tandem wing experimental aircraft built by Miles Aircraft, designed to give the pilot the best view possible for landi ...
– Tandem-wing research *
Miles M.52 The Miles M.52 was a turbojet-powered supersonic research aircraft project designed in the United Kingdom in the mid-1940s. In October 1943, Miles Aircraft was issued with a contract to produce the aircraft in accordance with Air Ministry Sp ...
– Supersonic flight research *
Parnall Parasol The Parnall Parasol was an Experimental aircraft, experimental parasol winged aircraft design to measure the aerodynamic forces on wings in flight. Two were built and flown in the early 1930s in the UK. Design and development There have always ...
– Wing pressure and aileron testing *
Parnall Peto The Parnall Peto was a small seaplane designed to the British Air Ministry's specification 16/24 in the early 1920s for use as a submarine-carried reconnaissance aircraft. Design and development Two examples were designed and built by George ...
– Experimental submarine-launched aircraft. * Parnall Prawn – Flying boat testing buried engine with variable-angle thrust line * Reid and Sigrist R.S.4 Bobsleigh – Prone-pilot research *
Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig The Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig (TMR), was a pioneering vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft developed by Rolls-Royce in the 1950s. It has the distinction of being "the first jet-lift aircraft to fly anywhere in the world". The ...
– Low speed VTOL control test rig *
Saro Shrimp The Saunders Roe A.37 Shrimp was a 1930s British two-seat four-engined experimental flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited ("Saro") at Cowes. Development The Shrimp was designed by H Knowler in 1939 as a half-size research aircraft as par ...
– Experimental half-scale flying boat for development of cancelled Saunders-Roe S.38 *
Saunders-Roe SR.53 The Saunders-Roe SR.53 was a British prototype interceptor aircraft of mixed jet and rocket propulsion developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) by Saunders-Roe in the early 1950s. As envisaged, the SR.53 would have been used as an interceptor a ...
– Mixed rocket/jet propulsion development aircraft for cancelled
Saunders-Roe SR.177 The Saunders-Roe SR.177 was a 1950s project to develop a combined jet- and rocket-powered interceptor aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy. It was an enlarged derivative of the Saunders-Roe SR.53, which was itself an experi ...
*
Short Cockle The Short S.1 Cockle was a single-seat sport monoplane flying boat, with a novel monocoque duralumin hull. It was underpowered and so did not leave the water easily, but it proved that watertight and corrosion-resistant hulls could be built fr ...
– Metal construction technology demonstrator for flying boats *
Short Mussel The Short S.7 Mussel was a single-engined two-seat monoplane built by Short Brothers to test the performance of their duralumin monocoque floats. Two were built. Development Having demonstrated the watertightness and corrosion resistance of du ...
– Testing metal construction techniques for aircraft floats * Short S.6 Sturgeon – Tested aluminium construction techniques for aircraft *
Short S.31 Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...
– Half-scale model for Short Stirling development * Short SB.1 – Tailless glider for isoclinic wing research *
Short SB.4 Sherpa The Short SB.4 Sherpa was an experimental aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers. Only a single example was ever produced. The Sherpa was developed during the 1950s for the purpose of testing a nove ...
– Powered isoclinic wing research * Short SB.5 – English Electric Lightning wing research *
Short SC.1 The Short SC.1 was the first British fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft. It was developed by Short Brothers. It was powered by an arrangement of five Rolls-Royce RB.108 turbojets, four of which were used for vertical ...
– VTOL research *
Short Silver Streak The Short Silver Streak was the first British all-metal aircraft.Jackson 1973, p. 297. It was designed and built by Short Brothers at Rochester, Kent, England. Although ''Flight'' magazine claimed that it was the first instance of stressed skin ...
– Stressed skin construction, developed into
Short Springbok The Short Springbok was a two-seat, all-metal reconnaissance biplane produced for the British Air Ministry in the 1920s. All together six aircraft of the Springbok design were built but none entered service with the armed forces. Design The Sp ...
* Supermarine 508 – Development aircraft with vee tail * Supermarine 525 – Swept wing development aircraft for
Supermarine Scimitar The Supermarine Scimitar was a single-seat naval strike aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. Operated exclusively by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, it was the final aircraft to be entirely designed a ...
program * Vickers Type 618 Nene-Viking – Jet engine testbed * Vickers Type 470 and Type 486 WellingtonWhittle jet engine testbeds * Vickers Type 602 Wellington Mark X
Rolls-Royce Dart The Rolls-Royce RB.53 Dart is a turboprop engine designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce Limited. First run in 1946, it powered the Vickers Viscount on its maiden flight in 1948. A flight on July 29 of that year, which carried 14 paying passe ...
turboprop testbed *
Westland-Hill Pterodactyl Pterodactyl was the name given to a series of experimental tailless aircraft designs developed by G. T. R. Hill in the 1920s and early 1930s. Named after the genus Pterodactylus, a well-known type of Pterosaur commonly known as the pterodactyl, a ...
– Tailless monoplane testbeds *
Youngman-Baynes High Lift The Youngman-Baynes High Lift was a British experimental aircraft of the 1940s. It was a single-engine, low-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Development The High Lift was a "one-off" experimental, flying test-bed for the ...
– Youngman flap testbed


United States


X-planes

*
Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Be ...
– Supersonic flight and sound barrier *
Bell X-2 The Bell X-2 (nicknamed "Starbuster") was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range. The X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing research aircraft developed jointly in 1945 by Bell Aircraft Co ...
– Mach 2–3 supersonic flight *
Douglas X-3 Stiletto The Douglas X-3 Stiletto was a 1950s United States experimental jet aircraft with a slender fuselage and a long tapered nose, manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Its primary mission was to investigate the design features of an aircraf ...
– Sustained supersonic flight *
Northrop X-4 Bantam The Northrop X-4 Bantam was a prototype small twinjet aircraft manufactured by Northrop Corporation in 1948. It had no horizontal tail surfaces, depending instead on combined elevator and aileron control surfaces (called elevons) for control in ...
– Tailless aircraft *
Bell X-5 The Bell X-5 was the first aircraft capable of changing the sweep of its wings in flight. It was inspired by the untested wartime P.1101 design of the German Messerschmitt company. In contrast with the German design, which could only have its ...
– Variable-sweep wing *
Convair X-6 The Convair X-6 was a proposed experimental aircraft project to develop and evaluate a nuclear-powered jet aircraft. The project was to use a Convair B-36 bomber as a testbed aircraft, and though one NB-36H was modified during the early stage ...
– Nuclear reactor test aircraft (for nuclear-powered aircraft) * Lockheed X-7 – Unmanned ramjet and guidance test missile *
Aerojet General X-8 The Aerojet General X-8 was an unguided, spin-stabilized sounding rocket designed to launch a payload to .Miller, Jay, The X-Planes, 1988, Arlington, Texas: Aerofax, Inc., , page 81 The X-8 was a version of the prolific Aerobee rocket family. ...
– Sounding rocket (became
Aerobee The Aerobee rocket was one of the United States' most produced and productive sounding rockets. Developed by the Aerojet Corporation, the Aerobee was designed to combine the altitude and launching capability of the V-2 with the cost effective ...
) * Bell X-9 Shrike – Guided missile * North American X-10 – Unmanned missile technology demonstrator *
Convair X-11 The Convair SM-65A Atlas, or Atlas A was the first full-scale prototype of the SM-65 Atlas, Atlas missile, which first flew on 11 June 1957. Unlike later versions of the Atlas missile, the Atlas A did not feature the stage and a half design. Inste ...
– Single engine missile testbed for
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
* Convair X-12 – Three engine missile testbed for
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
*
Ryan X-13 Vertijet The Ryan X-13 Vertijet (company designation Model 69) was an experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft built by Ryan Aeronautical and flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project was to demons ...
– Tail sitter VTOL jet *
Bell X-14 The Bell X-14 (Bell Type 68) is an experimental VTOL aircraft flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project was to demonstrate vectored thrust horizontal and vertical takeoff, hover, transition to forward flight, ...
Thrust vectoring Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...
VTOL jet * North American X-15 – Hypersonic rocket-powered research aircraft (Mach 6) *
Bell X-16 The Bell X-16 was a high altitude aerial reconnaissance jet aircraft designed in the United States in the 1950s. The designation of X-16 was a cover to try to hide the true nature of the aircraft mission from the Soviet Union during the Cold ...
- High-altitude reconnaissance jet *
Lockheed X-17 The Lockheed X-17 was a three-stage solid-fuel research rocket to test the effects of high mach atmospheric reentry. The first stage of the X-17 carried the rocket to a height of before burning out. The rocket would then coast on momentum to a ...
– Research rocket testing high mach re-entry *
Hiller X-18 The Hiller X-18 was an experimental cargo transport aircraft designed to be the first testbed for tiltwing and V/STOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing) technology. Development Design work started in 1955 in aviation, 1955 by Stanley Hille ...
– Tiltwing STOVL cargo aircraft *
Curtiss-Wright X-19 The Curtiss-Wright X-19, company designation Model 200, was an American experimental tiltrotor aircraft of the early 1960s. It was noteworthy for being the last aircraft of any kind manufactured by Curtiss-Wright. Design and development In Mar ...
– VTOL tiltrotor *
X-20 Dyna-Soar The Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar ("Dynamic Soarer") was a United States Air Force (USAF) program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including aerial reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite mainten ...
– Spaceplane program *
Northrop X-21 The Northrop X-21A was an experimental aircraft designed to test wings with laminar flow control. It was based on the Douglas WB-66D airframe, with the wing-mounted engines moved to the rear fuselage and making space for air compressors. The airc ...
– Laminar flow wing *
Bell X-22 The Bell X-22 is an American V/STOL X-plane with four tilting ducted fans. Takeoff was to selectively occur either with the propellers tilted vertically upwards, or on a short runway with the nacelles tilted forward at approximately 45°. Additio ...
– Ducted fan V/STOL * Martin X-23 PRIME – Lifting body reentry vehicle testbed *
Martin Marietta X-24 The Martin Marietta X-24 was an American experimental aircraft developed from a joint United States Air Force-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of u ...
– Lifting body test aircraft *
Bensen X-25 The Bensen B-8 is a small, single-seat autogyro developed in the United States in the 1950s. Although the original manufacturer stopped production in 1987, plans for homebuilders are still available as of 2019. Its design was a refinement of t ...
– Single-seat autogyro *
Schweizer X-26 Frigate The X-26 Frigate is the longest-lived of the X-plane programs. The program included the X-26A Frigate sailplane and the motorized X-26B Quiet Thruster versions: QT-2, QT-2PC, and QT-2PCII. All were based on the Schweizer SGS 2-32 sailplane. D ...
– Sailplane * Lockheed X-27 Lancer – high-performance technology demonstrator based on Lockheed CL-1200 * Pereira X-28A Sea Skimmer – Single-seat flying boat for US Navy *
Grumman X-29 The Grumman X-29 was an American experimental aircraft that tested a forward-swept wing, canard control surfaces, and other novel aircraft technologies. The X-29 was developed by Grumman, and the two built were flown by NASA and the United St ...
– Forward-swept wing test aircraft *
Rockwell X-30 The Rockwell X-30 was an advanced technology demonstrator project for the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP), part of a United States project to create a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spacecraft and passenger spaceliner. Started in 1986, it was canc ...
– Single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft *
Rockwell-MBB X-31 The Rockwell-Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm X-31 was an experimental jet fighter designed to test fighter thrust vectoring technology. It was designed and built by Rockwell and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), as part of a joint US and German '' ...
– Extreme angle of attack test aircraft * Boeing X-32Joint Strike Fighter Program technology demonstrator *
Lockheed Martin X-33 The Lockheed Martin X-33 was a proposed uncrewed, sub-scale technology demonstrator suborbital spaceplane that was developed for a period in the 1990s. The X-33 was a technology demonstrator for the VentureStar orbital spaceplane, which was plan ...
– Unmanned scale demonstrator for
VentureStar VentureStar was a single-stage-to-orbit reusable launch system proposed by Lockheed Martin and funded by the U.S. government. The goal was to replace the Space Shuttle by developing a re-usable spaceplane that could launch satellites into orbit ...
single stage to orbit spacecraft *
Orbital Sciences X-34 The Orbital Sciences X-34 was intended to be a low-cost testbed for demonstrating "key technologies" that could be integrated into the Reusable launch system, Reusable Launch Vehicle program. It was intended to be an autonomous pilotless craft pow ...
– Reusable launch vehicle testbed *
Lockheed Martin X-35 The Lockheed Martin X-35 is a concept demonstrator aircraft (CDA) developed by Lockheed Martin for the Joint Strike Fighter program. The X-35 was declared the winner over the competing Boeing X-32 and a developed, armed version went on to ente ...
Joint Strike Fighter Program technology demonstrator, developed into
F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
*
McDonnell Douglas X-36 The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) X-36 ''Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft'' was an American stealthy subscale prototype jet designed to fly without the traditional empennage found on most aircraft. This configuration was designed t ...
– Tailless fighter research agility aircraft *
Boeing X-37 The Boeing X-37, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a reusable robotic spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a launch vehicle, then re-enters Earth's atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane. The X-37 is operated by the United Stat ...
– Reusable unmanned spacecraft *
NASA X-38 The X-38 was an experimental re-entry vehicle designed by NASA to research a possible emergency crew return vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station (ISS). The 1995–2002 program also developed concepts for a crew return vehicle design ...
– Crew return vehicle for
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
(cancelled after tests) * X-39 – Reserved for USAF/DARPA program use * Boeing X-40 Space Maneuver Vehicle – Testbed for X-37 guidance and flight characteristics *
X-41 Common Aero Vehicle __NOTOC__ X-41 is the designation, initiated in 2003, for a still-classified United States military spaceplane. The X-41 is now part of the FALCON (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) program sponsored by DARPA and NASA. ...
– Classified DARPA/NASA maneuvering re-entry vehicle *
X-42 Pop-Up Upper Stage X-42 is the designation of a still-classified U.S. military space project. Specifications or photos of the program have not been released to the public; as a result not much is known about its goals. It is believed to be a liquid-propellant rocket ...
– Classified rocket upper stage * NASA X-43 Hyper-X – Hypersonic scramjet *
Lockheed Martin X-44 MANTA The Lockheed Martin X-44 MANTA (Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft) was an American conceptual aircraft design by Lockheed Martin that has been studied by NASA and the U.S. Air Force. It was intended to test the feasibility of full yaw, pitch and rol ...
– Multi-axis tailless aircraft concept *
Boeing X-45 The Boeing X-45 unmanned combat air vehicle is a concept demonstrator for a next generation of completely autonomous military aircraft, developed by Boeing's Phantom Works. Manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the X-45 was a part ...
– Unmanned combat air vehicle *
Boeing X-46 The Boeing X-46 was a proposed unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) that was to be developed in conjunction with the United States Navy and DARPA as a naval carrier-based variant of the Boeing X-45 UCAV being developed for the U.S. Air Force. Two ...
– Unmanned combat air vehicle (proposal only) *
Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus The Northrop Grumman X-47 is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle. The X-47 began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's UCAS-D program to create a carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Unlike the B ...
– Unmanned combat air vehicle *
Northrop Grumman X-47B The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed for aircraft carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARP ...
Iron Raven – Aircraft carrier capable unmanned combat air vehicle technology demonstrator *
Boeing X-48 The Boeing X-48 is an American experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built to investigate the characteristics of blended wing body (BWB) aircraft. Boeing designed the X-48 and two examples were built by Cranfield Aerospace in the UK. Bo ...
– Blended wing aircraft *
Piasecki X-49 The Piasecki X-49 "SpeedHawk" is an American four-bladed, twin-engined experimental high-speed compound helicopter developed by Piasecki Aircraft. The X-49A is based on the airframe of a Sikorsky YSH-60F Seahawk, but utilizes Piasecki's proprie ...
– Compound helicopter technology demonstrator *
Boeing X-50 Dragonfly The Boeing X-50A Dragonfly, formerly known as the Canard Rotor/Wing Demonstrator, was a VTOL rotor wing experimental unmanned aerial vehicle that was developed by Boeing and DARPA to demonstrate the principle that a helicopter's rotor could be s ...
– Gyrodyne unmanned aerial vehicle *
Boeing X-51 Waverider The Boeing X-51 Waverider is an unmanned research scramjet experimental aircraft for hypersonic flight at and an altitude of . The aircraft was designated X-51 in 2005. It completed its first powered hypersonic flight on 26 May 2010. After t ...
– Mach 5+ scramjet missile demonstrator *
Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing The X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) development program is a completed American research project that was undertaken jointly by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing Phantom Works and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, where th ...
– Wing warping flight demonstrator *
Gulfstream X-54 The Gulfstream X-54 is a proposed research and demonstration aircraft, under development in the United States by Gulfstream Aerospace for NASA, that is planned for use in sonic boom and supersonic transport research. Design Initiated during 200 ...
– Supersonic boom intensity research and demonstration aircraft * Lockheed Martin X-55 – Advanced composites technology demonstrator * Lockheed Martin X-56Flutter suppression and gust load testing unmanned testbed * NASA X-57 Maxwell - Electric-powered light aircraft *
Lockheed Martin X-59 QueSST The Lockheed Martin X-59 QueSST ("Quiet SuperSonic Technology") is an American experimental supersonic aircraft being developed at Skunk Works for NASA's Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator project. Preliminary design started in February 2016, with the ...
- Low-boom supersonic aircraft *
Generation Orbit X-60 The Generation Orbit X-60 (GOLauncher 1 or GO1) was an air-launched single stage Sub-orbital spaceflight, suborbital rocket vehicle produced by Generation Orbit Launch Services, Generation Orbit. Design and development The first two segments of ...
- Air-launched single stage suborbital rocket vehicle *
Dynetics X-61 Gremlins The Dynetics X-61 Gremlins is an experimental unmanned aerial vehicle designed by Dynetics. Design and development The X-61 stemmed from the DARPA Gremlins program to demonstrate a recoverable, low-cost UAV with digital flight controls and n ...
- Unmanned aerial vehicle *
General Dynamics X-62 VISTA The General Dynamics X-62 VISTA ("Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft") is an experimental aircraft, derived from the F-16D Fighting Falcon, which was modified as a joint venture between General Dynamics and Calspan for use by ...
- Variable stability, thrust vectoring (formerly known as NF-16D VISTA)


Other experimental types

*
Acme Sierra The Acme Aircraft Co S-1 Sierra was an experimental aircraft of unusual configuration built in the US in 1948 to investigate the advantages of a pusher propeller configuration. Apart from this engine installation, the aircraft was unusual in havi ...
1959 – Technology demonstrator * AstroFlight Sunrise 1974 – Solar powered drone *
Ball-Bartoe Jetwing __NOTOC__ The Ball-Bartoe JW-1 Jetwing was a US research aircraft flown in the 1970s to investigate blown wing technology. Design and development The Jetwing was a small, mid-wing design powered by a turbofan and fitted with tail-wheel unde ...
1977 – Blown wing research *
Bell D-292 The Bell D-292 was an American experimental helicopter developed by Bell Helicopters Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft ...
1985 – Advanced Composite Airframe Program * Bell L-39 1946 – Swept wing research *
Bell Model 65 The Bell Model 65 Air Test Vehicle (ATV) was an experimental tiltjet VTOL aircraft built by Bell using parts from a number of general aviation aircraft.VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
* Bell XV-15 1977 –
Tiltrotor A tiltrotor is an aircraft which generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors (sometimes called ''proprotors'') mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a trans ...
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
, precursor to V-22 Osprey *
Bell 533 The Bell 533 was a research helicopter built by Bell Helicopter under contract with the United States Army during the 1960s, to explore the limits and conditions experienced by helicopter rotors at high airspeeds. The helicopter was a YH-40—a ...
1962 – US Army high speed helicopter experiments * Boeing ecoDemonstrator 2012 – Airliner fuel efficiency and noise reduction technologies *
Budd BB-1 Pioneer The Budd BB-1 Pioneer was an experimental United States flying boat of the 1930s utilizing the Savoia-Marchetti S.56 design. Its framework was constructed entirely of stainless steel, using a newly patented method of welding that alloy. Devel ...
1931 – Stainless steel construction *
Burnelli RB-1 The Burnelli RB-1 was a US twin engine biplane airliner prototype from 1920, incorporating a lifting body fuselage. Design and development The Burnelli RB-1, often known as the Remington-Burnelli Airliner, was an American passenger biplane from ...
1921 – Lifting body proof of concept vehicle * Chrysler VZ-6 1959 – Ducted fan *
Convair NB-36 The Convair NB-36H was an experimental aircraft that carried a nuclear reactor. It was nicknamed "The Crusader". It was created for the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program, or the ANP, to show the feasibility of a nuclear-powered bomber. Its d ...
1955 – Nuclear propelled aircraft testbed *
Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 The Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 (also known as the VZ-7AP) was a VTOL quadrotor helicopter aircraft designed by the Curtiss-Wright company for the US Army. Like the Chrysler VZ-6 and the VZ-8 Airgeep it was to be a "flying jeep". Design and developmen ...
1958 –
Quadcopter A quadcopter or quadrotor is a type of helicopter with four Helicopter rotor, rotors. Although quadrotor helicopters and convertiplanes have long been flown experimentally, the configuration remained a curiosity until the arrival of the moder ...
* Curtiss-Wright X-100 1963 – Tilt rotor VTOL (developed into X-200 and X-19) *
Custer Channel Wing The Custer Channel Wing was a series of United States, American-built experimental aircraft designs of the 1940s and 1950s incorporating a ''half-barrel'' shaped section to each wing. The channel wing principle In 1925, Willard Custer noticed ...
s 1953 – Blown half-barrel wings * Doak VZ-4 1958 – Tilt-fan VTOL * Douglas D-558-I Skystreak 1947 – Supersonic research * Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket 1948 – Supersonic research *
Fairchild VZ-5 The Fairchild VZ-5 (or Model M-224-1) was an experimental VTOL aircraft built in the 1950s. The VZ-5 was designed by Fairchild Aircraft for research use by the United States Army. Development The VZ-5 prototype was built as part of a series of ...
1959 – Deflected air VTOL * Farrar LSG-1 Bird Flight Machine 1969 – Glider to research bird flight *
General Dynamics F-16XL The General Dynamics F-16XL is a derivative of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-16 Fighting Falcon, with a Cranked arrow, cranked-arrow delta wing. It was originally conceived as a technology demonstrator, later entered in the Unite ...
1982 – Relaxed stability delta wing, boundary layer suction laminar flow *
General Dynamics F-16 VISTA The General Dynamics X-62 VISTA ("Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft") is an experimental aircraft, derived from the F-16D Fighting Falcon, which was modified as a joint venture between General Dynamics and Calspan for use by t ...
1992 – Variable stability, thrust vectoring (Redesignated X-62 Vista in 2021) *
General Electric GE36 The General Electric GE36 was an experimental aircraft engine, a hybrid between a turbofan and a turboprop, known as an unducted fan (UDF) or propfan. The GE36 was developed by General Electric Aircraft Engines, with its CFM International equal ...
testbed 1986 – Propfan engine testbed on a modified
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
* Goodyear Inflatoplane 1956 – Inflatable rescue aircraft technology demonstrator *
Gossamer Albatross The ''Gossamer Albatross'' is a human-powered aircraft built by American aeronautical engineer Dr Paul B MacCready's company AeroVironment. On June 12, 1979, it completed a successful crossing of the English Channel to win the second Kremer ...
1979 – Human-powered flight *
Gossamer Condor The MacCready ''Gossamer Condor'' was the first human-powered aircraft capable of controlled and sustained flight; as such, it won the Kremer prize in 1977. Its design was led by Paul MacCready of AeroVironment, Inc. Design and development ...
1977 – Human-powered flight * modified
Grumman Gulfstream II The Gulfstream II (G-II) is an American twin engine business jet designed and built by Grumman and then in succession, Grumman American and finally Gulfstream American. Its Grumman model number is G-1159 and its US military designation is C-11A. ...
– Engine testbed for the NASA Propfan Test Assessment (PTA) *
Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee The Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee (U.S. Army designation; earlier Army designation: HO-1) was a unique direct-lift rotor aircraft, using contra-rotating ducted fans for lift inside a platform upon which the single pilot shifted body weight for directional ...
1955 – Direct lift rotor platform *
Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) is an experimental hypersonic glide vehicle developed as part of the DARPA Falcon Project designed to fly in the Mach number, Mach 20 range. It is a test bed for technologies to provide the United States wit ...
2010 – Hypersonic glider * Kaman K-125 1947 – Intermesh twin rotor helicopter, servo-flap control * Kaman K-16 – Modified
Grumman Goose The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious flying boat designed by Grumman to serve as an eight-seat "commuter" aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman's first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and i ...
for tiltwing V/STOL research * Lockheed Altair 1938 – Twinned engine testbed (both engines were in a single cowl) * NASA Dryden
Lockheed C-140 Jetstar The Lockheed JetStar (company designations L-329 and L-1329; designated C-140 in US military service) is a business jet produced from the early 1960s to the 1970s. The JetStar was the first dedicated business jet to enter service, as well as t ...
1964 – Electronic variable stability,
propfan A propfan, also called an open rotor engine, or unducted fan (as opposed to a ducted fan), is a type of aircraft engine related in concept to both the turboprop and turbofan, but distinct from both. The design is intended to offer the speed an ...
engine (1981) and
laminar flow In fluid dynamics, laminar flow is characterized by fluid particles following smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mi ...
wing testbed (1985) *
Lockheed Have Blue Lockheed ''Have Blue'' was the code name for Lockheed's proof of concept demonstrator for a stealth bomber. ''Have Blue'' was designed by Lockheed's Skunk Works division, and tested at Groom Lake, Nevada. The ''Have Blue'' was the first fixe ...
– Stealth technology demonstrator * Lockheed Vega ''Winnie Mae'' – high-altitude research – confirmed existence of jet stream * Lockheed QT-2 – Quiet Thruster noise suppression experiments *
Lockheed XC-35 The Lockheed XC-35 is a twin-engine, experimental pressurized airplane. It was the second American aircraft to feature cabin pressurization. It was initially described as a "supercharged cabins" by the Army. The XC-35 was a development of the Lo ...
– Pressurized cabin development *
Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird The Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird (originally designated VZ-10) was a U.S. Army project to demonstrate the feasibility of using VTOL for a surveillance aircraft carrying target-acquisition and sensory equipment.LTV XC-142 The Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) XC-142 was a tri-service tiltwing experimental aircraft designed to investigate the operational suitability of vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) transports. An XC-142A first flew conventionally on 29 Septem ...
– VTOL transport technology demonstrator *
Martin 162A Tadpole Clipper The Martin PBM Mariner was an American Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War era. It was designed to complement the Consolidated PBY Catalina and Consolidated PB2Y Coronado, PB2Y Coronado in s ...
– Proof of concept aircraft * Martin XB-26H Marauder – Tandem undercarriage * McDonnell Douglas MD-81 UHB
General Electric GE36 The General Electric GE36 was an experimental aircraft engine, a hybrid between a turbofan and a turboprop, known as an unducted fan (UDF) or propfan. The GE36 was developed by General Electric Aircraft Engines, with its CFM International equal ...
and PW-Allison 578-DX propfan engine testbed *
NASA AD-1 The NASA AD-1 was both an aircraft and an associated flight test program conducted between 1979 and 1982 at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards California, which successfully demonstrated an aircraft wing that could be pivoted obliqu ...
– Oblique Wing * NASA Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology experimental aircraft – ALTUS, Pathfinder and Helios *
NASA Hyper III __NOTOC__ The NASA Hyper III was an American unpowered full-scale lifting body remotely piloted vehicle designed and built at the NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Design and development The Hyper III was designed ...
– *
NASA M2-F1 The NASA M2-F1 was a lightweight, unpowered prototype aircraft, developed to flight-test the wingless lifting body concept. Its unusual appearance earned it the nickname "flying bathtub" and was designated the M2-F1, the M referring to "manned", ...
– Lifting body/re-entry vehicle *
NASA Pathfinder The NASA Pathfinder and NASA Pathfinder Plus were the first two aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Envi ...
– Solar-powered aircraft * Northrop F-5 Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstrator – Shockwave reduction *
Northrop HL-10 The Northrop HL-10 was one of five US heavyweight lifting body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC—later Dryden Flight Research Center) in Edwards, California, from July 1966 to November 1975 to study and validate the concept o ...
– Lifting body/re-entry vehicle research *
Northrop M2-F2 The Northrop M2-F2 was a heavyweight lifting body based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers and built by the Northrop Corporation in 1966. Development The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and cons ...
– Lifting body/re-entry vehicle research * Northrop M2-F3 – Lifting body/re-entry vehicle research * Northrop N-1M – Flying wing research *
Northrop N-9M The Northrop N-9M was an approximately one-third scale, span all-wing aircraft used for the development of the full size, wingspan Northrop XB-35 and YB-35 flying wing long-range, heavy bomber. First flown in 1942, the N-9M (M for Model) was th ...
– Flying wing proof of concept aircraft for
Northrop YB-35 The Northrop YB-35, Northrop designation N-9 or NS-9, were experimental heavy bomber aircraft developed by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Forces during and shortly after World War II. The airplane used the radical and p ...
* Northrop Tacit Blue – Stealth technology demonstrator * Piasecki PV-2 – Helicopter technology demonstrator *
Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep The Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep (company designation PA-59) was a prototype vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft developed by Piasecki Aircraft. The Airgeep was developed to fulfill a U.S. Army Transportation Research Command contract for a fly ...
– Liftfan VTOL research *
Piasecki PA-97 The Piasecki PA-97 Helistat was an American experimental heavy-lift aircraft, built by Piasecki by fastening four H-34J helicopters to a framework beneath a helium-inflated blimp envelope. The sole prototype was lost during a test flight, killi ...
1980 - Heavy lifter *
Republic XF-84H The Republic XF-84H "Thunderscreech" was an American experimental turboprop aircraft derived from the F-84F Thunderstreak. Powered by a turbine engine that was mated to a supersonic propeller, the XF-84H had the potential of setting the unoffici ...
"Thunderscreech" – Supersonic propeller testbed *
Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor The Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor (originally designated XP-91) is a mixed-propulsion prototype interceptor aircraft, developed by Republic Aviation. The aircraft would use a jet engine for most flight, and a cluster of four small rocket engines ...
– Inversely tapered swept wing *
Rockwell HiMAT The Rockwell RPRV-870 HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology) is an experimental remotely piloted aircraft that was produced for a NASA program to develop technologies for future fighter aircraft. Among the technologies explored were clos ...
– Maneuverability and control research *
Rockwell XFV-12 The Rockwell XFV-12 was a prototype supersonic United States Navy fighter which was built in 1977. The XFV-12 design attempted to combine the Mach 2 speed and AIM-7 Sparrow armament of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in a VTOL (vertical ...
– Augmented wing vectored thrust VTOL * Rotary Rocket Roton 1999 – Single stage to orbit helicopter rocket *
Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane The Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane, also known by the company designation Ryan Model 92 was an American experimental vertical/short take-off (VSTOL) aircraft built by the Ryan Aeronautical Company for the United States Army. Design and development The V ...
1958 – Blown flap VTOL research *
Ryan XV-5 Vertifan The Ryan XV-5 Vertifan was a jet-powered V/STOL experimental aircraft in the 1960s. The United States Army (US Army) commissioned the Ryan VZ-11-RY (re-designated XV-5A in 1962) in 1961, along with the Lockheed VZ-10 Hummingbird (re-designated ...
1964 – Fan lift VTOL research * Sawyer Skyjacker II – Low aspect ratio research aircraft *
Scaled Composites Proteus The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to ...
1998 – Telecommunication relay testbed * Schweizer SGS 1-29 1958 – Laminar flow research on wings made of metal *
Sikorsky S-69 The Sikorsky S-69 (military designation XH-59) is an American experimental co-axial compound helicopter developed by Sikorsky Aircraft as the demonstrator of the Advancing Blade Concept (ABC) under United States Army and NASA funding. Developme ...
1981 – Compound co-axial research *
Sikorsky S-72 The Sikorsky S-72 was an experimental compound helicopter developed by helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. Design and development RSRA The Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) was developed by Sikorsky for NASA and the Army. The RSRA ...
1976 – Helicopter/aircraft hybrid research *
Sikorsky S-75 The Sikorsky S-75 was a proof-of-concept all-composite helicopter. Sikorsky Aircraft used all-composite materials to replace metal to provide greater strength, lighter weight, lower manufacturing costs, and reduce maintenance costs. Design and ...
1984 – Advanced Composite Aircraft Program * Sikorsky S-76 SHADOW 1985 – Sikorsky Helicopter Advanced Demonstrator and Operator Workload * Stinson L-1 Vigilant – One example modified for boundary layer experiments *
Travel Air 2000 The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH were open-cockpit biplane aircraft produced in the United States in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. During the period from 1924–1929, Tra ...
– One modified for Besler steam powered aircraft *
Vertol VZ-2 The Vertol VZ-2 (or Model 76) was a research aircraft built in the United States in 1957 to investigate the tiltwing approach to vertical take-off and landing. Design and development The aircraft had a fuselage of tubular framework (originally ...
– tilt wing VTOL research *
Vought V-173 The Vought V-173 "Flying Pancake" was an American experimental test aircraft built as part of the Vought XF5U program during World War II. Both the V-173 and the XF5U featured an unorthodox "all-wing" design consisting of flat, somewhat disk-sha ...
– Disk wing research for
Vought XF5U The Vought XF5U "Flying Flapjack" was an experimental U.S. Navy fighter aircraft designed by Charles H. Zimmerman for Vought during World War II. This unorthodox design consisted of a flat, somewhat disc-shaped body (hence its name) serving as ...
* Vought V-326 – High-altitude test aircraft *
Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 (or S-46) is an American single-engine helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky. It had a single three-blade rotor originally powered by a 75 horsepower (56  kW) engine. The first "free" flight of the VS-300 was on 13 ...
– Helicopter


See also

* List of German WW II prototypes and projects


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Experimental Aircraft, List Of * Lists of aircraft by role