NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced a new experimental aircraft called the X-70 Fractal on November 4 at the UP.Summit at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crewed aircraft will feature reconfigurable flight-control technology and a modular design for swapping payloads, according to NASA's press release.
The X-70 specifications include a cruise speed of Mach 0.75, maximum altitude of 45,000 feet, operational range beyond 1,726 miles, takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds, and capacity for up to 2,000 pounds of experimental payloads. Isaacman said the aircraft could take flight within two years, though many details about its design and development timeline remain unknown. NASA did not name a specific aircraft manufacturer in its announcement.
"The X-70 Fractal gives NASA a crewed, high-performance platform to test advanced flight-control, maneuverability, and other cutting-edge technologies in real flight," Isaacman said. "Its modular design and ability to rapidly swap internal and external payloads will keep our teams flying, learning, and moving quickly from one experiment to the next."
NASA's press release included an apparently AI-generated image showing a dark silhouette vaguely resembling a military fighter jet obscured by smoke. Another X-plane is expected to be announced at the UP.Summit on November 6, according to Aviation Week, coinciding with a scheduled announcement from President Donald Trump.
The announcement comes as NASA works to grow its X-plane fleet. The agency's supersonic X-59 Quesst, designed by Lockheed Martin, has completed over 40 flight tests since its first flight on October 28, 2025, including supersonic runs reaching Mach 1.53.