USAF's newest X-plane will be a composite cargo aircraft

摘要

Since the 1940s, the U.S. Air Force's X-planes have typically been designed for speed, maneuverability, and weapons delivery. Often built under black budgets, the existence of many X-planes remained secret until after their retirement. Breaking that mold is the USAF's newest X-plane, the Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA). Designed to demonstrate the use of structural composite materials in a short takeoff and landing (STOL) cargo aircraft, the ACCA will be the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) first flying X-plane since the Grumman-built for-ward-swept-wing X-29 of the 1980s.