The idea of the blended wing-body was conceived during the pioneer era, and was briefly flown on a full-size aircraft in 1924. From 1911 to 1916, a group of
Finnish students flew models of up to 3 m (10 ft) span, eventually arriving at a blended wing-body design which was inherently stable. In the early 1920s Nicolas Woyevodsky developed a theory of the BWB and, following wind tunnel tests, the
Westland Dreadnought was built. It stalled on its first flight in 1924, severely injuring the pilot, and the project was cancelled. The idea was proposed again in the early 1940s for a
Miles M.26 airliner project and the
Miles M.30 "X Minor" research prototype was built to investigate it. The
McDonnell XP-67 prototype interceptor also flew in 1944 but did not meet expectations.
NASA and
McDonnell Douglas returned to the concept in the 1990s with an
artificially stabilized model (6% scale) called BWB-17, built by
Stanford University, which was flown in 1997 and showed good handling qualities. From 2000 NASA went on to develop a remotely controlled research model with a wingspan. NASA has also jointly explored BWB designs for the
Boeing X-48 unmanned aerial vehicle. Studies suggested that a BWB airliner carrying from 450 to 800 passengers could achieve fuel savings of over 20 percent. The N3-X NASA concept uses a number of
superconducting electric motors to drive the distributed fans to lower the fuel burn, emissions, and noise. The power to drive these electric fans is generated by two wingtip-mounted gas-turbine-driven superconducting electric generators. This idea for a possible future aircraft is called a "hybrid wing body" or sometimes a blended wing body. In this design, the wing blends seamlessly into the body of the aircraft, which makes it extremely aerodynamic and holds great promise for dramatic reductions in fuel consumption, noise and emissions. NASA develops concepts like these to test in computer simulations and as models in wind tunnels to prove whether the possible benefits would actually occur.
2020s In 2020,
Airbus presented a BWB concept as part of its
ZEROe initiative and demonstrated a small-scale aircraft. In 2022,
Bombardier announced its
EcoJet project. In 2023, California startup
JetZero announced its
Z5 project, designed to carry 250 passengers, targeting the
New Midmarket Airplane category, expecting to use existing
CFM International LEAP or
Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines. In August 2023, the
U.S. Air Force announced a $235-million contract awarded over a four-year period to JetZero, culminating in first flight of the full-scale demonstrator by the first quarter of 2027. The goal of the contract is to demonstrate the capabilities of BWB technology, giving the Department of Defense and commercial industry more options for their future air platforms. Following this development, JetZero has received
FAA clearance for test flights of its Pathfinder, a 'blended-wing' demonstrator plane designed to significantly reduce drag and fuel consumption. This innovative design could potentially lower emissions by 50%. Scheduled for full-scale development by 2030, JetZero plans to create variants for passengers, cargo, and military use. The project faces challenges in certification and integration with current airport infrastructures. California company
Natilus announced the development of two BWB aircraft targeting the narrowbody market: a regional cargo aircraft, KONA, which can carry a payload of 3.8 metric tons and has a range of 900 nautical miles. {{cite web |author= |date=2025-02-04|title= Nolinor Aviation to acquire multiple cargo aircraft from Natilus ==Characteristics==