Aurora Flight Sciences co-invests with DARPA on X-65 aircraft, plans first flight test in 2027

A rendering of Aurora's X-65 aircraft for DARPA's Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) project. (Aurora Flight Sciences)

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA's) Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) project, designed to test active flow control (AFC) in-flight, is expected to perform its initial flight test of the X-65 aircraft in 2027, representatives from Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, and DARPA told Janes.

The test flight would be conducted two years later than the initial timeline laid out in January 2024, as the project was paused in early 2025, according to Christopher Kent, programme manager in the Tactical Technology Office at DARPA.

“The fuselage is on track to be completed in January. We estimate that ground testing of the complete aircraft will begin in late 2026 to early 2027. We estimate late 2027 for the initial flight test,” an Aurora spokesperson told Janes in an emailed statement on 2 December .

Kent told Janes on 25 November, “DARPA decided to strategically pause the development of the X-65 CRANE demonstrator to reevaluate the programme, given cost and schedule risk to produce the flight-test vehicle was being exceeded at that time.”

He added, “DARPA programmes are all high risk by nature, and as with this programme, Aurora had to address some technical and supply chain challenges resulting in added development time for the demonstrator.”

The pause provided DARPA an opportunity to engage Aurora Flight Sciences in a co-investorship agreement, which was finalised as the project restarted in mid-August 2025.

Both DARPA and Aurora Flight Sciences declined to disclose the amount the company invested into the programme, with an Aurora spokesperson telling Janes