The X-70 is NASA’s next experimental X-plane
The Verge · Andrew Liszewski ·
The X-70 Fractal is expected to take flight within the next two years.
Yesterday NASA announced the latest addition to its X-series of experimental aircraft that have included the Bell X-1 that first broke the sound barrier nearly 80 years ago, and the more recent X-59 quiet supersonic demonstrator. The new X-70 Fractal is designed to be a “high-performance, highly adaptable research platform” that NASA can use as a testbed for the development and testing of next-generation aviation technologies.
The agency only released an AI-generated image of the X-70 shrouded in smoke and shadows, but confirmed several of the plane’s capabilities. It will be a crewed aircraft with a cruising speed of Mach .75 that can reach altitudes of up to 45,000 feet and will provide an “operational range exceeding about 1,726 miles.” The X-70 will be able to carry up to 2,000 pounds of experimental equipment either inside or outside the aircraft, and will feature “advanced, rapidly reconfigurable flight-control technology that will allow NASA to explore aircraft maneuverability in ways never before demonstrated in crewed flight.”
[Image: NASA hasn’t yet fully revealed what the X-70 Fractal looks like. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/11/nasa-x-70-image.webp?quality=90&strip=all]
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