The Air Force has designated the Air Force Research Lab’s Active Aeroelastic Wing flight demonstrator the X-53. An AFRL release notes that this is the first X-plane initiated within the Air Vehicles Directorate since the X-24 lifting body concept. The AAW flight demonstrator, a joint project of AFRL, NASA, and Boeing, is an F/A-18 highly modified to exploit aeroelastic effects normally considered anathema to aircraft performance. AFRL officials say the X-plane designation lends the program more import.
After nearly a yearlong vacancy, the Air Force has a Vice Chief of Staff once more. The Senate confirmed Gen. John D. Lamontagne to the service’s No. 2 job on Jan. 30 in an uncontroversial voice vote, along with a new head of U.S. Southern Command and five Air Force three-stars.
