X-Plane Aircraft
Breaking down the barriers of aviation has never been a painless - or cheap - experience.
There are a total of 141 Experimental X-Plane Aircraft in the Military Factory. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order. Flag images indicative of country of origin.
1917
With production numbering over 6,000 total units, the Airco / de Havilland DH.4 was another one of Geoffrey de Havilland's su...
1947
The Antonov An-2 is a multi-role light utility biplane initially produced under the Soviet flag. Despite its 1940's pedigree,...
1944
The Ar E.381-series of prototypes was submitted in 1944 for review by the German Air Ministry. Whilst a plethora of companies...
1936
The E.500 was a proposed heavy fighter design put forth by Arado Flugzeugwerke of Germany. The system was designed as early a...
1940
The idea of twin fuselage aircraft was always in the minds of military aircraft engineers throughout the Second World War. Co...
1943
Arado proposed this E.555 flying wing concept towards the end of 1943 as a high-speed long-range bomber. The flying wing conc...
1945
The Arado E.560 series of developmental high-speed jet bombers saw a large evolution on paper. Design of the platform centere...
1937
The Arado Ar E.561 was on the drawing boards as early as 1937. Classified as a heavy fighter, the type would have lived and d...
1944
Once the Volksjager competition came around in 1944, Arado Flugzeugwerke went back to a 1943 design it had had and touched it...
1944
The Arado Ar E.581.4 was conceived of as a single-seat jet fighter utilizing a delta-wing shape. The system was not a "true" ...
1943
The Arado Ar E.654 was proposed as a heavy fighter / destroyer platform designed from another Arado product - the Ar 240. Th...
1944
The Arado "Projekt I" was intended to be a two-man jet-powered night fighter. The aircraft featured a slender yet short fusel...
1945
The Arado Ar Projekt II was a proposed jet-powered fighter of considerable size. It carried a basic classification of nightfi...
1943
The Arado Ar TEW 16/43-13 was a design concept envisioned as a rocket-propelled interceptor for the German Luftwaffe. The des...
1943
The Arado Ar TEW 16/43-15 concept was born out of an in-house research project studying the possibilities of jet-powered figh...
1943
With development of the advanced twin-engine, jet-powered Ar 234 "Blitz" bomber coming along, the Arado firm turned its atten...
1943
The single-seat, jet-powered Arado Ar TEW 16/43-23 design was penciled sometime in 1943. Categorized as a fighter, the type m...
1916
Avro (A.V. Roe and Company) was founded in 1910 and based out of Manchester. The firm played a large role from World War 1 in...
1959
Along the same lines as the prototype North American XB-70 Valkyrie strategic bomber of the United States Air Force, the BAC ...
1945
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter (translated to "Adder" though also known as the "Viper") was one of the late-war German aircraft ini...
2018
The UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle) is the evolution of the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). The UAV began life as a reconna...
1944
The XA-38 was a developmental twin-engine heavy fighter produced by the Beech Aircraft firm. By all accounts, she was a stabl...
2006
The Bell ARH-70 helicopter was developed for the US Army as a possible direct replacement to the successful but aged Kiowa Wa...
2020
Bell Helicopters is forging their 3rd Generation Tiltrotor concept for marketing to the United States Army and its Future Ver...
1947
The Bell X-1 was an advanced technology demonstrator that became the first aircraft in the history of aviation to break the s...
1951
The X-5 was an experimental single-seat, single-engine, jet-powered fighter design prototype produced by the Bell Aircraft co...
1940
The XFL "Airabonita" was a Bell Aircraft Company product developed in parallel with the P-39 Airacobra, a land-based USAAF de...
1940
In the same way that the XFM-1 Airacuda was a "different" sort of aircraft, the Bell company itself was "different sort" of a...
1945
In 1942, with World War in full swing across Europe and the Pacific, work began on an American turbo jet-powered aircraft to ...
1909
The Bleriot XI was one of the first notable monoplanes to achieve any level of fame. Primitive by today's standards, the syst...
1938
While the Blohm & Voss (or "Blohm und Voss") aircraft firm will forever be linked to their many successful floatplanes and fl...
2004
The RAH-66 Comanche helicopter was to be the next generation answer for the United States Army in replacing its aging series ...
1983
The Boeing Skyfox was a modification program intended to modernized the large fleet of existing Lockheed T-33 "Shooting Star"...
2000
The Boeing X-32 was a prototype aircraft developed for the US military's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The Boeing submi...
2010
The Boeing X-51 "Waverider" is an unmanned technology demonstrator designed to further develop the concept of shockwave-assis...
1943
The United States Army Air Corps appreciated the tactical scope of the German Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers an...
1940
With the introduction of the N1 (may also be known as the CC.2), Italy became only the second nation in the world to achieve ...
1910
This invention by Romanian inventor Henri Coanda amazingly appeared in 1910 as the world's first jet-propelled aircraft - jus...
1944
Curtiss Aircraft enjoyed success with its inline piston-engined P-40 "Warhawk" series of fighters which went on to serve in m...
1939
The Curtiss XP-42 was a further development of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk model though it would share some initial outward similar...
1941
The smallish XP-46 was to be the answer for the deficiencies encountered in the P-40 Warhawk platform. Unfortunately for Curt...
1943
The XP-55 Ascender was an unorthodox attempt by the Curtiss-Wright company that produced just three prototype models. Answeri...
1948
The XF-87 was a failed proposal attempted by the Curtiss-Wright aircraft design bureau to meet an Air Force requirement for t...
2010
Billed as the "World's Fastest Airplane", the Falcon HTV-2 ("Hypersonic Technology Vehicle") is a long-duration, hypersonic t...
2012
KQ-X is a program designation commissioned by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) of the United States to modif...
1965
The Mirage IIIV was designed to a NATO requirement for a supersonic VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) fighter aircraft. Th...
2018
The Dassault nEUROn is an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) technology demonstrator intended to provide participating Europe...
2010
The Eurocopter X3 (or simply as the "X-Cubed") is an developmental rotary-wing platform intended to validate a helicopter des...
1943
General Motors became a major player in the American manufacturing realm when World War 2 arrived for the United States. With...
1939
The Flettner Fl 265 served as an experimental helicopter system for the German Kriegsmarine during World War 2. In many ways,...
1942
The Fw 191 was the Focke-Wulf submission to the German Air Ministry's "Bomber B" program of 1939. Authorities were sold on th...
1945
By late in World War 2, German authorities had already made a stout commitment to the production of fighters over bombers. Se...
1982
Though appearing very much like the F-16 Fighting Falcon base model, the F-16XL was designed as a very different aircraft. Th...
1945
The Gotha Project 60C nightfighter was another late-war "paper airplane" design attempt intended to defend the Reich from the...
1982
The Grumman X-29 aircraft was a developmental technology demonstrator appearing in the latter years of the Cold War. The desi...
1941
Firmly entrenched as an aircraft supplier to the United States Navy, the Grumman aircraft company set about to supply an equa...
2012
The HAL LCH ("Light Combat Helicopter") is an indigenous Indian attack helicopter currently in development as of this writing...
2022
In December of 2010, it was announced that a partnership deal had been reached between the governments of India and Russia on...
1939
The Hawker Tornado was born of the same initiative that brought forth the Hawker Typhoon of World War 2. The initiative itsel...
1939
In the late 1930s, the Heinkel concern of Germany began work on the world's first all-liquid fueled rocket-propelled aircraft...
1939
The Heinkel He 178 became the world's first practical turbojet-powered aircraft to fly, beginning a new age of aviation in th...
1933
The Heinkel 70 (Blitz) was originally born out of a need for a speedy aeroplane charged with "fast" mail delivery for the Deu...
1941
The Henschel Hs P.75 appeared in 1941 as a possible contender to the outmoded and outclassed Messerschmitt BF 110 "Zerstorer"...
1945
The Horten Ho IX (or "Horten Ho 229" - sometimes wrongly designated the "Gotha Go 229") maintains a certain level of celebrit...
1944
The Horten Ho X (10) continued the Horten Brother's love affair with the flying wing concept. The concept was notably solidif...
1935
The H-1 (also known as the "Hughes 1B") model was the first product of the Hughes Aircraft firm and was intended as a world r...
1966
The Hughes OH-6 "Cayuse" (popularly recognized as the "Loach") was a revolutionary light helicopter mount primarily in servic...
1946
Though only achieving prototype form, the XF-11 was one of the darling designs of famed American aviator Howard Hughes. Looki...
1943
The German Junkers Ju 390 long range heavy bomber aircraft design was intended to be able to strike at locations along the ea...
2020
The "5th Generation Fighter" - along with the "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" - is the current buzzword in the aviation defense ind...
1943
During the height of World War 2 (1939-1945), all major participants undertook various programs to further evolve existing we...
1945
The unorthodox Kyushu J7W Shinden ("Magnificent Lightning") was a "wonder-weapon" of the Empire of Japan in the closing mon...
1944
Alexander Lippisch (1894-1976) became an important figure in aviation research, having earned his "wings" as an aerial photog...
1967
The AH-56 Cheyenne was Lockheed's first and only foray into development of a production helicopter. In many respects, howeve...
1942
The XP-49 was a development of the Lockheed Corporation and a possible replacement for its successful line of P-38 Lightning ...
1944
The XP-58 "Chain Lightning" was initially envisioned as a larger version of the successful Lockheed P-38 Lightning twin-boom ...
1987
The Lun-class Ekranoplan flying boat was one of the most distinct designs to emerge from the Cold War. The aircraft was desig...
1983
The McDonnell Douglas A-12 "Avenger II" was slated to become the United States Navy's (USN) first stealth aircraft. The type ...
1948
The XF-85 Goblin was an attempt by the McDonnell bureau to realize the dream of a "parasite fighter" program that was actuall...
1948
World War 2 proved to American warplanners that the importance of escort fighters for their bombers could not be overstated. ...
1943
The XP-67 was the first attempt by the McDonnell corporation to build a fighter for the United States Military. The same corp...
1943
The Messerschmitt Me 209-II was a proposed successor to the far-reaching Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. The Bf 109 was the sta...
1942
The Messerschmitt Me 264 was intended as a long-range aircraft and reconnaissance platform that was to supply the German Luft...
1942
The Messerschmitt Me 309 was one of two fighters (joining the later Me 209-II) developed by the German concern during World W...
1944
The Messerschmitt Me P.1101 was a swept-wing, single-seat, single-engine jet-powered fighter aircraft under development for t...
1944
In 1944, Messerschmitt (among other German aircraft firms) was hard at work penciling out design concepts for the German Air ...
1999
Mikoyan designed the MiG 1.42 in response to a Soviet requirement for a multi-role frontline fighter through the "Multifuncti...
1962
The Mil Mi-6 was an inventory stalwart for the Soviet Union and its allies during the Cold War. For a time, the Mi-6 represen...
1959
The M-50 and M-52 bombers were two prototype intercontinental supersonic strategic bombers proposed by the Soviet firm of Mya...
1922
World War 1 had been raging in Europe since 1914 and aircraft technology had advanced ten-fold by 1918. The French firm of Ni...
1964
The XB-70 Valkyrie was intended to be the USAF 'super bomber' for decades to come and was tabbed as the eventual successor to...
1957
The YF-107 "Ultra Sabre" prototype represented the final foray into military aviation for the North American Aircraft Corpora...
2014
The Fire-X is being jointly developed as a full-size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) by Northrop Grumman and Bell Helicopter. T...
2011
Following the proof-of-concept demonstrator X-47A "Pegasus", the X-47B was born as a full-sized technology demonstrating Unma...
1990
The YF-23 Black Widow II was Northrop Grumman's (along with McDonnell Douglas Corporation) answer to the American ATF (Advanc...
1943
The XP-56 "Black Bullet" was designed by the Northrop company to an Army Air Corps proposal known as the R-40C. The XP-56 sto...
1945
The concept of the flying wing had been around since the dawn of flight and made more so intriguing throughout the 1920s and ...
1972
The YF-17 Cobra was a Northrop Aviation creation through NASA to support further testing and research of aircraft at transoni...
1946
During World War 2, the Republic Aviation name was primarily tied to the excellent P-47 "Thunderbolt" fighter-bomber which pr...
1955
The Republic XF-84H was an experimental airframe based on the jet-powered, single-seat Republic F-84F Thunderstreak fighter. ...
1944
The XP-72 Wasp Major Thunderbolt was intended to be an "ultimate" design of the highly successful P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bo...
1977
The XFV-12 aircraft was a proposed Rockwell International design to a United States Navy requirement for a VTOL (Vertical Tak...
1953
The Ryan X-13 "Vertijet" was an experimental program of the 1950s funded by the United States Air Force to help test the vali...
1946
The Ryan "Dark Shark" was an impressive developmental hybrid fighter design considered for service with both the United State...
1970
Before the US Army's ubiquitous workhorse transport/utility helicopter - the Sikorsky UH-60 "Black Hawk" - had become a house...
1918
Lost in the discussions concerning Sopwith aircraft of World War 1 was the Sopwith "Rhino", an interesting triplane bomber gi...
1940
The Su-1 (and related Su-3) fighter aircraft were short-lived prototype developments of the Soviet Sukhoi concern - essential...
1946
While the concept of the turbojet engine lingered for some time, it was not put into practical use until the latter part of t...
2015
The PAK FA (or "PAK[FA]") is currently in development with Sukhoi OKB, a Russian aircraft firm receiving its origins during t...
1956
Following World War 2, the aviation world was moving along at breakneck speeds in development of advanced jet-powered designs...
1943
The Vultee XP-54 was one of the more distinct aircraft creations designed during World War 2. Produced through the essentiall...
1945
The Consolidated Vultee XP-81 was a proposed long-range, high-altitude fighter design that was to be the answer for bomber es...
1923
The Witteman-Lewis XNBL-1 (popularly known as the "Barling Bomber") was an ambitious heavy bomber design from Walter Barling,...
1903
Though the prospect of manned flight had been around for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, it would be the Wright Brot...
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