Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor variant
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor X-44 MANTA
Experimental aircraft projected on the basis of the F-22, with no aerodynamic control surfaces and steered solely by multi-axis thrust vectoring. Funding was halted in 2000 and it never left the design stage.
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor sheet
History
The X-44 MANTA — for multi-axis, no-tail aircraft — was to demonstrate that a fully manoeuvrable aircraft could be built in all three axes without horizontal and vertical stabilisers. Changes of direction would be executed solely by three-dimensional thrust vectoring, with no rudders, ailerons or elevators as backup. The aircraft would be derived from the F-22 by lengthening the wings and removing the empennage. The project, led by NASA and the U.S. Air Force, never got beyond the preliminary design stage and its funding was halted in 2000.