Lockheed Martin X-44 MANTA

NASA and the U.S. Air Force had begun preliminary work on the aircraft by May 1999. Plans called for MANTA technologies to be demonstrated on either an F-22 Raptor or F-15. An X-44 prototype would begin test flights by fiscal year 2007. NASA planners stated that developing technologies for the X-44 could have application to the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter programs and commercial supersonic ventures. Funding for the X-44 ended in 2000. Some of the subsequent FB-22 proposals had considered having no tailplanes and would have continued the research from the MANTA program. ==Design and development==

Planning documents called for an aircraft that "leapfrogs state-of-the-art." The X-44 was designed by Lockheed Martin to demonstrate the feasibility of an aircraft controlled by vectored thrust alone. The X-44 design had a reduced radar signature (due to lack of tail and vertical stabilizers) and was made more efficient by eliminating the tail and rudder surfaces, and instead using thrust vectors to provide yaw, pitch and roll control. The X-44 MANTA would have a greater fuel capacity than the F-22, due to its larger delta wing design. The MANTA was designed to have reduced mechanical complexity, increased fuel efficiency and greater agility. ==See also==