The XB-70 was positioned as a launch vehicle for the North American X-15 spaceplane, a manned, rocket-powered aircraft that flew at Mach 6.7. Launched from an XB-70 mothership at Mach 3, ...

The first XB-70 Valkyrie built, the XB-70A, had handling at speeds greater than Mach 2.5, and only got above Mach 3 once. So a second one was built, the XB-70B, with the wings adjusted just 5 ...

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.

The experimental legacy of the iconic XB-70 Valkyrie, which made its first flight on Sept. 21, 1964. An article published on the U.S. Air Force website ...

The first NASA XB-70 flight occurred on April 25, 1967, the last one was on Feb. 4, 1969 when the aircraft made a subsonic structural dynamics test and ferry flight from Edwards AFB to Wright ...

The XB-70’s Design. In 1957, North American Aviation won the contract to develop XB-70, a delta-winged behemoth designed to cruise at Mach 3 (over 2,300 miles per hour) and altitudes exceeding ...

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.

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.

A Total Failure: The XB-70 Valkyrie was an experimental U.S. nuclear bomber developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a potential replacement for the B-52. Designed to fly at Mach 3 speeds and altitudes ...