USAF Contract Will Evaluate JetZero's Blended-wing Body Aircraft | Aviation International News

Sustainability and Environment

USAF Contract Boosts JetZero's Blended-wing Body Design

JetZero promises to halve fuel burn and emissions

JetZero's blended-wing body aircraft — The U.S. Air Force will evaluate JetZero's blended-wing body technology demonstrator, which the company says could cut fuel burn and emissions in half. (Image: JetZero)

By Charles Alcock • Managing Editor

August 17, 2023

The U.S. Air Force has commissioned JetZero to build and fly a full-scale technology demonstrator for a blended-wing body (BWB) aircraft intended for military and commercial airline applications. The California start-up, which on Wednesday was awarded a $235 million contract from the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, is developing the aircraft in partnership with Northrop Grumman and its Scaled Composites subsidiary.

Under the terms of the four-year contract, JetZero is expected to have a technology demonstrator ready to fly in the first quarter of 2027. The Pentagon is eyeing the BWB concept as a contender for its requirements for a new military airlifter and an air-to-air refueling platform. It is already considering other options for that usage, such as the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Cargo program, DARPA’s LibertyLifter, and Boeing’s NASA-funded Transonic Truss-braced Wing demonstrator.

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