Of all the experimental aircraft in the realm of advanced stealth planes, few designs have had a more lasting influence than the Lockheed Martin X-44 MANTA. Conceived in the late 1990s, the X-44 was a bold effort to redefine the concept of a stealth fighter. Although it never went beyond the development phase, its concepts paved the way for technology that is now at the forefront of sixth-generation fighter design.
The X-44, or Multi-Axis No-Tail Aircraft, was more than a variation of incumbent designs such as the F-22 Raptor—it was a clean-sheet design that extended the limits of fighter aircraft design. Lockheed Martin and NASA dreamed of an airplane devoid of traditional control surfaces. That is, no vertical stabilizers, no elevators, no rudders—just a delta-wing airframe with no tails using only sophisticated 3D thrust vectoring. This design was intended to minimize radar cross-section significantly by removing the surfaces most accountable for radar reflection, structurally simplifying the airframe, and making additional space available for internal fuel and armament.
The X-44’s tailless delta-wing design promised greater range, increased payload capacity, and stealth capabilities than current fighters. Caleb Larson pointed out that the design would create a structurally lighter, simpler aircraft with increased internal fuel capacity and stealth properties, all without the use of movable aerodynamic surfaces. The internal weapons bays and streamlined form were also optimized for survivability as well as speed, and as such, the X-44 concept represents a promising step in air combat capability.
But for all its potential, the X-44 MANTA never got off the drawing board. Perhaps one of the largest technical hurdles was its complete reliance on thrust vectoring to maneuver. This was state-of-the-art at the time but carried enormous risks. Conventional aircraft possess flight control surfaces that give them redundancy and stability. The X-44 would have had to trust solely on its engines’ capability to redirect thrust for all movement—pitch, roll, and yaw. This demanded levels of flight control reliability and software maturity that just weren’t there in the late ’90s.
Aside from the technical issues, changing defense priorities also had a significant part to play in putting the project on the back burner. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the focus of the U.S. military turned away from air superiority platforms and toward counterterrorism missions, intelligence gathering, and multi-role fighters such as the F-35. Unmanned aerial systems started to make inroads. Air dominance-only projects such as the X-44 were increasingly viewed as less relevant and too expensive. In Larson’s words, a strategic shift within the Department of Defense essentially put the X-44 and other similar next-generation fighter projects on the back burner in favor of more flexible, broader applications.
Nevertheless, the X-44’s impact did not disappear. Indeed, if anything, it worked behind the scenes to influence the development of future stealth aircraft. Nowadays, many of the characteristics that shaped the X-44—tailless configurations, thrust vectoring, and internally integrated systems—have become signatures of sixth-generation fighter proposals. The U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, in development to replace the F-22, is generally thought to have many of the concepts that made the X-44 so interesting in its platform.
Defense analyst Kris Osborn even implied that NGAD’s origins lie in the X-44. The now-radical concept of marrying stealth with extreme maneuverability without conventional flight surfaces is now a tangible design goal. Such concepts have progressed from theory to virtual reality, with some credit going to the foundation paved by previous programs such as the X-44 MANTA.
The MANTA’s reach goes beyond just U.S. plans. Its wing and body shape, without a tail, has set a trend for new stealth planes. This has led to a big change in how planes are made. Popular Mechanics notes that more and more new fighter programs are picking designs like the Mantas, showing how big the X-44’s ideas have been.
The push for tailless, ultra-stealth airframes is not about being futuristic—it’s about keeping ahead in a world where airspace becomes more contested and opponents are spending big on air defense systems. With threats changing, so too must the means to defeat them. At the 2025 Air & Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium, Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph Kunkel made it clear that NGAD was the sole feasible route to preserve air dominance in highly contested airspace. Without air superiority, he underscored, all other military operations become considerably more challenging or impossible.
NGAD is more than a plane. It’s part of a broader vision that consists of manned aircraft, drones, higher-tech sensors, and AI-powered coordination—a system that will function in harmony. Human-machine collaboration and adaptive, flexible mission capability are at the heart of the vision. But fundamentally, nothing changes: air superiority is not negotiable. In the words of Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, bluntly, without air and space domination, securing larger military goals becomes all but impossible.
Cost, though, is always an issue. The NGAD program will be one of the most costly fighter development projects in history. Even today, it’s operating on budget limitations and internal conflicts over what things take priority. But, according to Kunkel, winning isn’t cheap. “Fiscal constraints don’t change what it takes to win,” he said. “We know what it takes. It takes all of the Air Force. It takes air superiority.”
The X-44 MANTA never flew, but its ghost haunts the latest stealth fighter designs. The concepts that were too revolutionary or science-fictional at the time are now design norms for warplanes of the future. In that way, the MANTA accomplished a lot more than sitting in an office file drawer—it influenced the development of contemporary air combat. Its radical vision—a tailless, stealth-optimized, highly agile fighter—continues to direct the innovations that emerge today in hangars, test facilities, and design studios worldwide.