The Lockheed Martin X-56 is an American
modular
Module, modular and modularity may refer to the concept of modularity. They may also refer to:
Computer science and engineering
* Modular design, the engineering discipline of designing complex devices using separately designed sub-components
...
unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
that is being designed to explore
High-Altitude Long Endurance
A high-altitude platform station (HAPS, which can also mean high-altitude pseudo-satellite or high-altitude platform systems), also known as atmospheric satellite, is a long endurance, high altitude aircraft able to offer observation or communi ...
(HALE) flight technologies for use in future military unmanned
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...
.
Design and development
Designed by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs, known informally as the
Skunk Works
Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, highly classified research and developme ...
, the aircraft was first revealed by
''Aviation Week'', and is intended to research active
flutter suppression and gust-load alleviation technologies. The X-56A is based on Lockheed's earlier UAV work, showing influence from the
Polecat
Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities t ...
,
Sentinel
Sentinel may refer to:
Places Mountains
* Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana
* Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica
* Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring granit ...
and
DarkStar UAVs. The program calls for the construction of two -long
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
s and a wingspan of 27.5 ft, with four sets of wings being constructed for flight testing.
Operational history
The X-56A first flew on 26 July 2013,
flying from
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...
; twenty flights were to be flown on behalf of the
Air Force Research Laboratory
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Air Force Materiel Command, Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct- ...
before the aircraft would be handed over to
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
for further testing.
The first X-56A unmanned aircraft was severely damaged in a crash shortly after takeoff from the dry lakebed at
Edwards AFB, California, on 19 November 2015, on its first flexible-wing flight to test active flutter suppression. The aircraft had previously made 16 flights with stiff wings to prove its operating envelope.
The second X-56A unmanned aircraft flew for the first time on 9 April 2015 while under operation by NASA. The aircraft flew eight flights with the stiff wings to clear its operating envelope. The vehicle then completed its first flight with the highly flexible wings on 31 August 2017.
One instability mode, body freedom
flutter, was shown to be actively suppressed by the digital
flight control at , within its normal
flight envelope
In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude.
The ...
.
Slender, flexible and lighter low-drag wings would be enabled by flutter suppression.
X-56B was destroyed in a crash on 9 July 2021 after suffering an "anomaly in flight".
Specifications (X-56A)
See also
References
External links
Lockheed Martin X-56 page
''Lockheed Martin X-56 (2012): Active Flutter Suppression'' Aviation Week I& Space Technology
{{US experimental aircraft
X-056
2010s United States experimental aircraft
Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States
Twinjets
Blended wing body
NASA aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2013
Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear