In 2018, Boeing’s VP of product and future airplane development, Mike Sinnett,that a BWBs’ efficiencies only come into play at longer ranges where fuel savings offset the weight and large wingspan drawbacks that come with such designs, limiting them to large aircraft.
The company name is not surprisingly meant to allude to the potential lower emissions such an aircraft might yield in operation, a marketing nod to the climate fervor the current administration, the Air Force, and others have latched onto without providing scientific proof that decarbonization will have a positive effect.
“You can imagine being involved from Northrop’s perspective. They don’t currently have an aircraft … they don’t have a tanker or a transport. So, to be able to get a nose into this market with an airframe that fits this need made sense...”... [+]Among the aspects of JetZero’s demonstration project for the Air Force and DIU are what it will not do. Stories reporting the investment have speculated on the possible stealth and airlifter-like capabilities of the aircraft.
Its size and runway requirements will have a say in its military application and to a lesser extent in the commercial market. Despite its expected long wingspan, O’Leary says a future production BWB will have a “better footprint” than existing Air Force tankers. “How you can stack these airplanes together works a little better than tube-and-wing [aircraft].”
It’s “a little early for us to be talking price,” O’Leary says with justification. He does allow that he thinks the cost of the airframe will not be “prohibitive”.