NASA unveiled its newest experimental aircraft, the X-70 Fractal, during the UP.Summit at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The high-performance, highly adaptable research platform is designed to accelerate the development and testing of advanced aviation technologies.

The crewed X-70 features rapidly reconfigurable flight-control technology intended to let NASA explore aircraft manoeuvrability in ways not previously demonstrated in crewed flight. The aircraft can accommodate up to 2,000 pounds of experimental payloads in internal and external locations, and has a takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds, a cruise speed of Mach 0.75, a service ceiling of up to 45,000 feet, and an operational range exceeding about 1,726 miles (1,500 nautical miles).

“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,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “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. We expect her first flight under the NASA banner within the next two years, and X-70 is just one part of this new beginning for aeronautics. This is why people come to NASA: to build, to learn, and most importantly, to fly.”

“For decades, NASA Aeronautics has used X-planes to develop technologies that advance aviation,” said Laurie Grindle, director of the Aeronautics Division within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate. “It’s exciting to bring on another X-plane to accelerate and drive aeronautics research.”