Skunk Works® X Plane to Become Digitally Certified Aircraft

Skunk Works® X-Plane to Become World's First Digitally-Certified Aircraft

August 19, 2024

In a groundbreaking leap for the aviation industry, Istari Digital has announced its latest project, Flyer Øne, a modification of Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works® X-56A, poised to become the world's first digitally-certified aircraft. This ambitious endeavor not only marks a significant technological achievement but also sets the stage for a new era in aircraft development and certification.

Pioneering the Future with Flyer Øne

Istari Digital is charting new territory with Flyer Øne, a program that aims to create and flight-certify a digital twin of the aircraft before any physical prototype is built. This innovative approach is set to revolutionize aircraft development by aligning the pace of advancements with the rapid evolution seen in software engineering.

Recently, Istari Digital and Skunk Works® achieved a significant milestone by passing the Critical Design Review (CDR), signaling that the project is on track to reach the first digital flight release. This achievement is more than a technical milestone; it's a testament to United States Air Force's storied legacy of pushing the boundaries of the physical world-now expanded into the digital realm.

The emergence of the world's first digitally-certified aircraft represents a shift in how future aircraft will be developed, certified, and evolved. This project exemplifies a new frontier in aviation, where digital innovation drives physical reality.

The History of X-56A

The quest to fly higher, farther, faster, and more efficiently has always been at the forefront of aviation innovation. A key challenge in this pursuit is flutter-a potentially catastrophic dynamic interaction between an aircraft's structural elasticity and the aerodynamic forces acting upon it.

In 2005, the Skunk Works® team embarked on a pioneering journey to tackle this challenge. Their work introduced a groundbreaking design methodology that demonstrated the ability to predict and control flutter behavior with remarkable precision. By leveraging active control techniques, they achieved a 75 percent increase in Body Freedom Flutter (BFF) speed, a feat validated through a series of successful flight tests.

The X-56A was initially developed under the Air Force Research Laboratory sponsored Multi-Utility Aeroelastic Demonstrator (MAD) program as the Multi-Utility Technology Testbed (MUTT), an innovative modular unmanned air vehicle (UAV) designed to push the boundaries of active flutter suppression and gust load alleviation. Its slender, lightweight, high-aspect-ratio wings were specifically engineered to enhance aircraft performance by operating at the very edge of the flight envelope.

Since its maiden flight in 2013, X-56A has made significant strides in flight control, proving its capabilities in flutter prediction and suppression with its flexible, slender wings. These advancements laid the foundation for the next evolution in aircraft design.