Boeing’s Proposed Demonstrator Aircraft for NASA Project Designated as X-66A

The U.S. Air Force has designated the aircraft that Boeing is building under NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project as the X-66A.

X-66A is an X-plane meant to help the U.S. achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as stated in the White House’s Aviation Climate Action Plan, the space agency said Monday.

An industry team led by Boeing will develop a single-aisle demonstrator aircraft with a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing under a contract that NASA awarded in January.

“We’re incredibly proud of this designation, because it means that the X-66A will be the next in a long line of experimental aircraft used to validate breakthrough designs that have transformed aviation,” said Todd Citron, chief technology officer at Boeing. 

“With the learnings gained from design, construction, and flight-testing, we’ll have an opportunity to shape the future of flight and contribute to the decarbonization of aerospace,” Citron added.

Boeing and NASA will modify an MD-90 aircraft to build a demonstrator plane equipped with a set of aerodynamic trusses and long, thin wings with engines.