Of all the military aviation projects that have excited interest, few have attracted nearly the same attention as has been devoted to the X-44 Manta.
Conceptualized at Lockheed Martin, this tailless delta-wing cousin of the F-22 Raptor was intended to push stealth and agility another step forward into the face of air combat.
It had been canceled in 2000, however, before even a prototype could be constructed, but its legacy is already shaping the future of air warfare.
As a tailless design, the X-44 Manta possessed advanced thrust vectoring and twinned turbofan engines with no vertical stabilizers, allowing it more stealth by reducing its radar signature.
This was an airframe that would promise an exceptionally agile performance, evading radar and achieving maneuvers that traditional fighters could not.
It would be armed with a 20mm internal cannon, two AIM-9 Sidewinders, and up to six AIM-120 AMRAAMs.
Despite much potential, the program remained on the shelf until the present time, and the Manta became an interesting page in aviation history.
Some of the principles of design in the X-44 have been carried on to the current Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, a sixth-generation fighter intended to replace the F-22.
The NGAD postulates a family of systems with a manned sixth-generation fighter supported by “loyal wingmen” drones integrated with tactical systems.
This new fighter is expected to be a tailless, wedge-shaped aircraft building on concepts developed with the X-44, but more advanced technology to ensure air dominance.
That legacy design became a focus of interest once again when Lockheed Martin released one rather vague render.
Most people began to wonder if it was some kind of picture of their NGAD contender.
This render did bear a lot of resemblance to X-44 concepts and that did reaffirm Lockheed Martin’s place as a frontrunner for building the next generation in air-combat superiority.
It embodies the very essence of the NGAD program, as with the X-44 Manta;
it manifests innovation and ensures that this technological leap only continues to shape the future of air combat.