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Aircraft Concepts

NASA’s full-scale vehicle design studies offer unique approaches to aviation electrification.

Four men stand in front of a large screen displaying images of airflow around a single-aisle aircraft.

NASA collaborates with U.S. industry to conduct conceptual design studies for various electrified aircraft configurations that could help improve fuel efficiency and vehicle performance. Covering a range of aircraft sizes, markets, and operating timeframes, these concepts help determine technological requirements for each configuration along with estimates for fuel savings and emission reductions. 

Did you know?

Similar to electrified cars, aircraft can operate on different levels of electrification ranging from fully electric propulsion to a mix of both electrical and traditional fuel-based energy. 

Similar to electrified cars, aircraft can operate on different levels of electrification ranging from fully electric propulsion to a mix of both electrical and traditional fuel-based energy. 

NASA’s electrified aircraft concepts explore unique ways to blend new technologies with advanced airframe designs and configurations to maximize performance and efficiency.

NASA’s electrified aircraft concepts explore unique ways to blend new technologies with advanced airframe designs and configurations to maximize performance and efficiency.
System Configurations

Types of Electrified Aircraft

NASA is exploring six different propulsion system architectures for future electrified aircraft, ranging from fully electric systems to hybrid and turboelectric configurations. 

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A close-up, top-down view of a single-aisle aircraft rendering showcasing the inner components that form a hybrid electric propulsion system. The two jet engines are displayed in red with blue lines connecting to smaller orange squares and a large green rectangular shape toward the back of the fuselage indicating the batteries.
A visualization of a single-aisle aircraft with a hybrid electric propulsion system.
NASA

Vehicle Designs

Explore NASA's fleet of electrified aircraft concepts and learn how each vehicle configuration offers unique performance benefits. 

An artist’s rendering of a single-aisle aircraft taking off from a runway. The plane features several fans distributed under each wing, with the NASA insignia in the center of the fuselage.

SUSAN Electrofan

The SUbsonic Single Aft eNgine (SUSAN) Electrofan is a hybrid electric aircraft concept designed for reducing fuel burn in future single-aisle commercial aircraft.

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A rear-view rendering of a blended wing body aircraft with distributed fans across the top rear of the vehicle as it flies across a blue sky with white clouds in the background. The NASA insignia is displayed on the left wing, and the words “N3-X” are written on the right wing.

N3-X

The N3-X is a fully turboelectric aircraft concept designed with a hybrid wing body airframe to maximize aerodynamic efficiency and reduce energy usage.

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A single-aisle aircraft with a rear motor flies across a blue sky with clouds in the background.

STARC-ABL

The Single-Aisle Turboelectric Aircraft with Aft Boundary Layer Propulsion (STARC-ABL) is a partially turboelectric aircraft concept designed to optimize performance with improved aerodynamics.

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Resources

A blue circle with white type displaying the NASA acronym encircled by a white swoosh and a red arrow.

Publications

Explore and download a collection of publications to learn more about NASA's conceptual electrified aircraft design studies and findings. 

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