The North American XB-70 Valkyrie is an American experimental aircraft first flown in 1964, designed as a prototype for a Mach 3 capable strategic bomber that would cruise at more than three times the speed of sound using compression lift generated by its own shock waves. Only two were built before the bomber program was cancelled in favor of missiles and lower altitude penetration tactics, and the surviving aircraft was used afterward purely for high speed research flights.
Facts
SignificancePrototype of the planned B-70 Mach 3 strategic bomber; the B-70 program was cancelled in 1961. 1 Manufacturer or BuilderNorth American Aviation 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. North American XB-70 Valkyrie, Wikipedia
Flight testing, maiden flight
The XB-70's maiden flight was on 21 September 1964.
Lead, second paragraph
Designed by North American Aviation in the late 1950s, the Valkyrie was a large six-engine, delta-winged aircraft able to fly Mach 3+ at an altitude of 70,000 feet.
Lead, first sentence
The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie is a retired prototype version of the planned B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration supersonic strategic bomber for the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command.
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