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A view from within the cockpit of a plane in flight looking out to the blue skies.

Aircraft Flown at Armstrong

For almost eight decades, pilots at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, have flown everything from light aircraft to high-speed jets and rocket-powered airplanes.

NASA Armstrong’s fleet brings together a diverse mix of research aircraft designed to tackle the most challenging questions in aeronautics and spaceflight. Each platform plays a distinct role in advancing how we fly, gather data, and explore the edges of the atmosphere, making the center’s lineup as versatile as it is groundbreaking.

A NASA F-15D aircraft flies above a cloud layer under a bright blue sky, pitched slightly to the right with its lower right wing closest to the viewer. Two pilots are visible – one in the front seat and one in the rear. The NASA logo appears on the aircraft’s right vertical stabilizer. The aircraft is framed by the wing of another white aircraft in the foreground.
NASA’s F-15D research aircraft conducts a calibration flight of a shock-sensing probe near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The shock-sensing probe is designed to measure the signature and strength of shock waves in flight in support of NASA’s Quesst mission.
NASA/Jim Ross

F-15 tail numbers (TNs) 836, 884, and 885

NASA Armstrong’s F-15s are used for dedicated research support and pilot training. These three, two-seat modified F-15s are twin-engine jet aircraft that provide NASA, industry, and academia a way to efficiently flight test aerodynamic, instrumentation, propulsion, and other flight research experiments. Pilots can fly safely up to 60,000 feet, allowing for operations at altitudes most standard aircraft cannot reach. These aircraft are also used for photo and video support, often acting as “chase planes,” monitoring and escorting other research aircraft. Live video from the air is streamed back to the center so engineers can visually monitor missions as they are flying, which greatly enhances flight safety.

A NASA F/A-18 high-performance jet flies a mission.
A NASA F/A-18 research aircraft flies near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Feb. 24, 2025, testing a commercial precision landing technology for future space missions. The Psionic Space Navigation Doppler Lidar system is installed in a pod located under the right wing of the aircraft.
NASA/Steve Freeman

F/A-18 TNs 846, 862, and 867

NASA flies three F/A-18 jets for to support research and pilot training, and to gather photo and video and act as chase planes. The F/A-18 are two-seat versions of the aircraft.

Airplane on runway, during the day.
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, operates the agency’s C-20A aircraft in support of the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar Airborne Science campaign on July 22, 2021.
NASA/Carla Thomas

C-20A TN 802

This C-20A, a military version of a Gulfstream G-III acquired from the Air Force, is used for environmental and geophysical research missions. It houses a synthetic aperture radar in an underbelly pod, a self-contained on-board Data Collection and Processing System, and a precision autopilot that enables the aircraft to fly repeat passes over a target within 15 feet of the original flight path.

An aircraft takes off.
NASA’s Gulfstream G-III takes off Friday, March 27, 2026, from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. This aircraft captured imagery of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield during the Artemis II reentry.
NASA/Carla Thomas

Gulfstream G-III TN 808

The G-III can carry a variety of scientific instruments onboard as a research instrument test bed and serve as an FAA certified passenger transport aircraft. On April 10, 2026, when NASA’s Artemis II flight test crew returned from their historic voyage to orbit the moon, this aircraft collected data on the heat shield of their Orion spacecraft during reentry.

A white Gulfstream IV airplane flies to the left of the frame over a tan desert landscape below and blue mountain ranges in the back of the image. The plane’s tail features the NASA logo, and its wings have winglets. Visible in the lower right third of the image, directly behind the airplane’s wingtip is the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. 
A NASA Gulfstream G-IV aircraft flies over the Antelope Valley in California to analyze aircraft performance in June 2024. NASA its modifying this aircraft to support its Airborne Science Program and will fly it from NASA Armstrong.
NASA/Carla Thomas

Gulfstream G-IV TN 814

This aircraft carries the NASA Next Generation Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar, which sends and receives microwave signals to collect information about Earth’s topographic features and how they change over time. Ultimately, the G-IV will be able to hold three radars simultaneously for additional science research.

A white airplane sits on a concrete ramp. In view is one of the two engines and one of the two wings. The aircraft has four sets of wheels underneath, six windows, and a three-window cockpit. One red and one blue stripe stretches across the belly of the aircraft.
A NASA Gulfstream GV aircraft sits on the ramp at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California on Jan. 13, 2026. This aircraft is being modified to support the NASA Airborne Science Program.
NASA/Genaro Vavuris

Gulfstream GV TN 815

This long-range remote sensing research aircraft houses instrumentation to support Earth science, atmospheric investigations, and spaceflight operations. This will include geophysical mapping, air quality studies, and satellite data validation.

A white aircraft with long, thin wings takes off from a runaway. The ground is below covered in sand and light green, small bushes. There are mountains in the background slightly covered by smoke or fog. The aircraft has two large pods connected to the wings. There are two sets of wheels underneath the aircraft and a small cockpit.
A NASA ER-2 aircraft takes off from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California on March 31, 2026, to support the GEMx airborne science mission.
NASA/Carla Thomas

ER-2 TNs 806 and 809

Onboard NASA’s ER-2s, scientists can use onboard instrumentation to collect information about Earth’s resources, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, and oceanic processes, as well as make celestial observations. The aircraft are also used for electronic sensor research and development, satellite calibration, and satellite data validation. The modular design of the ER-2 permits rapid installation or removal of payloads to meet changing mission requirements. Pilots flying the ER-2 must wear pressure suits because this it can fly at altitudes of up to 70,000 feet.

The tan sands of Rogers Dry Lakebed and the darkened directional lines of the compass rose at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California frame NASA’s newly painted Pilatus PC-12 airplane. The gleaming white plane with a blue stripe and blue N606NA number across the fuselage and NASA red worm logo on the tail, cuts across the clear, bright desert skies.
The NASA Pilatus PC-12 flies over the compass rose at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Sept. 18, 2024, while conducing flight research.
NASA/Jim Ross

Pilatus PC-12 TN 606

NASA Armstrong acquired the PC-12 in 2026 from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The aircraft will expand its flight research work across NASA centers while continuing to support work at Glenn.

A white airplane with long, thin wings sits on a concrete ramp. The airplane has red stripes on the tail. Two people wearing headphones sit side-by-side inside the cockpit. The glass canopy is open. The aircraft’s front propellor is moving and is blurred in this image by the motion. The background is flat and sand colored with mountains behind.
A NASA TG-14 sits on the ramp at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Aug. 4, 2025, to support NASA’s Quesst mission.
NASA/Christopher LC Clark

TG-14 TN 856

The TG-14 is a small, powered glider. Most recently, NASA equipped the aircraft with onboard microphones to capture sonic boom noise generated during flights of a NASA F-15B that was standing in for the experimental X-59. The tests helped researchers measure the acoustic signature of supersonic aircraft flying relatively close to the ground.

A small white aircraft with a blue stripe, and a black front propellor, drives along a concrete ramp with the desert and mountains behind it. There are two people inside, and only the tops of the helmets of both people can be seen under the clear canopy of the aircraft.
A NASA T-34 aircraft arrived at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Feb. 14, 2026.
NASA/Carla Thomas

T-34 TNs 865 and 602

The T-34 allows NASA pilots to conduct flight research or train to fly the agency’s larger PC-12. The T-34’s design allows for the mounting of equipment pods, providing NASA researchers with the option to develop new capabilities.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above the Mojave Desert on a clear day. The aircraft is white with light gray, red, and blue accent colors. A NASA logo is visible on its tail, along with the number 859 above it.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft makes its second flight Friday, March 20, 2026, near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
NASA/Jim Ross

X-59

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to usher in a new age of quiet, commercial supersonic flight over land. The X-59 will demonstrate that an aircraft can fly faster than the speed of sound while reducing the typical loud sonic boom to a quieter thump.

X-Planes at Armstrong

Experimental aircraft, or X-planes, are built for a wide range of research purposes – technology or concept demonstrators, unmanned test missiles, and even as prototypes.

Learn More about X-Planes at Armstrong
Neil Armstrong standing in front of X-15.
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