WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- The project to produce a futuristic "blended wing body" plane for the U.S. Air Force is getting off the ground with completion of early-stage test models.
Word from Boeing's secretive Phantom Works Thursday is that engineers have built a pair of models of the X-48B design that will be used for wind-tunnel and flight testing during the course of the year.
The models will be used to verify that the blended wing body (BWB) concept could some day lead to construction of a tailless aircraft reminiscent of the "flying wing" design that was envisioned during the Cold War and has been theorized as a source of some of the famous flying saucer sightings of the era.
"The X-48B prototypes ... are being used to demonstrate that a BWB is as controllable and safe during takeoff, approach and landing as a conventional military transport airplane," said Norm Princen, Boeing's chief engineer for the project.
The BWB design is considered to have major advantages in the future in terms of fuel efficiency, carrying capacity and radar evasion. Analysts point to the current B-2 stealth bomber as having the highest level of BWB characteristics in the current U.S. military arsenal.
"We believe the BWB concept has the potential to cost effectively fill many roles required by the Air Force, such as tanking, weapons carriage, and command and control," commented Capt. Scott Bjorge of the Air Force Research Laboratory.
