The XB-70 Valkyrie was a supersonic bomber capable of riding its own shockwaves and was the largest airplane of its time. Despite its engineering marvel, it never entered production for reasons ...

Long before the iconic SR-71 Blackbird captured imaginations with its unmatched speed and stealth, the XB-70 Valkyrie was blazing trails as one of the most ambitious aviation projects of its time ...

Introducing the XB-70 Designed in the early 1960s to replace the B-52 Stratofortress, which still serves in the U.S. Air Force today, the XB-70 was retired in 1969.

The XB-70 was designed to be larger and faster than the B-52. It was 196 feet long, 31 feet tall at the tail, with a 105-foot wingspan, and powered by six turbojet engines.

It was the XB-70 Valkyrie, an experimental plane developed for the US Air Force. Its inaugural flight — 60 years ago in September 1964 — kicked off a golden era for supersonic aircraft.

Five years before Concorde’s first flight, another majestic supersonic aircraft took to the skies — and almost became the inspiration for an even faster passenger plane. It was the XB-70 ...

XB-70 pilot Al White was able to eject, but he sustained serious injuries. The XB-70’s co-pilot Carl Cross and NASA’s Chief Test Pilot Joe Walker (F-104 pilot) were both killed.

The XB-70’s primary operational goals were complex, even by today’s standards. It had to be able to travel at Mach 3.0-3.2 (three times the speed of sound, or 2,300-plus mph), achieve an over ...

The XB-70 shed a part of its leading edge when the aircraft returned to flight, and the first prototype was then limited to just Mach 2.5. The second aircraft was cleared to fly at Mach 3.

By the time the XB-70 had flown, both Titan II and Atlas were well on their way to becoming dependable launch vehicles for both military and civilian use. They'd continue in those roles for decades.