An example of a parasite aircraft is the Boeing X-43 being dropped from under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress.

A parasite aircraft is an aircraft which is carried underneath, and air launched by, a mothership aircraft. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1082x718, 144 KB) NASA [1] File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Parasite aircraft Air launch ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1082x718, 144 KB) NASA [1] File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Parasite aircraft Air launch ... NASA technicians working on the X-43A at the tip of a Pegasus rocket attached to a Boeing B-52B prior to launch (March 27, 2004) The X-43 is an unmanned experimental hypersonic aircraft design with multiple planned scale variations meant to test different aspects of highly supersonic flight. ... The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range jet strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1954. ... A Boeing X-43 being air launched from under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress. ... A mothership is a vessel or aircraft that carries a smaller vessel or aircraft that operates independently from it. ...

The first use for parasite aircraft was in 1916, when the British used a Bristol Scout, flying from a Felixtowe Porte Baby, a giant flying boat of its time. This eventually developed into modern jet bombers carrying fully capable fighter aircraft. In some cases, these aircraft are able to return to their mothership. As fighter capabilities increased, this role was seen as less and less necessary. 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Based on a Frank Barnwell pre-WW1 racing plane, the Bristol Scout was one of the first fighter aircraft to be produced in quantity for the Royal Flying Corps. ... Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Other uses include launching spacecraft, experimental aircraft, and manned and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. A spacecraft is a vehicle, vessel, craft or device designed to operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ... In generic use, an experimental aircraft is an aircraft that has not yet been fully proven in flight. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ...

Famous examples include (but are not restricted to):

• Port Baby/Scout, the first parasite aircraft (1916)
• L 35 (LZ 80)/Albatros D.III, the first parasite fighter, flying from an airship (January 26, 1918)
• HMA 23/Camel, parasite fighter, flying from an airship (1918)
• Royal Air Force Trials of DH 53 Hummingbird light planes launched and recoverd by the airship R33 (1924), followed by equipping the airship with two Gloster Grebe fighters (1925).
• USS Akron and Macon/F9C, a very successful U.S. Navy escort fighter program, ended when the airships crashed (1925)
• S21/S20, Short-Mayo Composite a flying boat/seaplane combination for transoceanic postal service (1938)
• TB-3/SPB, the first parasite aircraft to see combat (1941)
• Do 217E/Me 328, escort fighter, unsuccessful due to engine problems
• Betty/Ohka, a Japanese kamikaze aircraft, which caused extensive damage to opposing forces (1945)
• B-29/X-1, research into supersonic flight (1947)
• B-36/XF-85, an attempt to equip bombers with their own escort fighters (1948)
• B-29/X-2, Mach 2.0 flight (1952)
• B-36/F-84, another, more successful, escort fighter attempt (1952)
• B-52/X-15, for research into high-Mach flight (1960)
• B-52/X-24, lifting body research (1969)
• DC-130/Q-2C Firebee, C-130 based drone
• SR-71/D-21, for high-speed reconnaissance (1963)
• Boeing 747/Space Shuttle Enterprise, for landing tests (1977)
• L-1011/Pegasus, for satellite launches (1990)
• White Knight/SpaceShipOne, as part of the Tier One privately-funded suborbital system (2004)
• B-52/X-43 Hyper-X, a hypersonic research test article
• White Knight/X-37, for DARPA's spaceplane project

Based on a Frank Barnwell pre-WW1 racing plane, the Bristol Scout was one of the first fighter aircraft to be produced in quantity for the Royal Flying Corps. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... This is a complete list of Zeppelins constructed by the original German Zeppelin companies from 1900 until 1938. ... The Albatros D.III was a highly successful single seat, biplane fighter aircraft used by the German Imperial Air Service (Luftstreitkrafte) and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (Luftfahrtruppen) during the First World War. ... The XF-85 Goblin was designed to be a parasite fighter for the Convair B-36 bombers. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... A Sopwith Camel at the Imperial War Museum in London. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... For the NYC Subway car, see R33 (New York City Subway car) The R33 was a British airship that served for 10 years and survived a gale. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Developed from a two seat trainer, the Gloster Grouse, Glosters Grebe was the Royal Air Forces first post World War I fighter, entering service in 1923. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) was a rigid airship of the United States Navy. ... USS Macon (ZRS-5) was a rigid frame airship built and operated by the United States Navy for scouting. ... The Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk was a light biplane fighter aircraft that was carried by the United States Navy airships USS Akron and USS Macon. ... USN redirects here. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Short Empire or S.23 was a passenger and mail carrying flying boat, of the 1930s and 1940s, which flew between Britain and British colonies in Africa, Asia and Australia. ... A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tupolev TB-3 bomber carrying a T-27 tank, 1935 The Tupolev TB-3 (Тяжелый бомбардировщик - Tyazholy Bombardirovschik - heavy bomber, development name ANT-6) was a heavy bomber aircraft which was deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and early 1940s. ... This article is about the year. ... The Dornier Do 217 was a World War II medium bomber designed from scratch as a replacement for the venerable Dornier Do 17. ... The Messerschmitt Me 328 was originally designed as a parasite fighter to protect Luftwaffe bomber formations during World War II. During its protracted development, a wide variety of other roles were suggested for it. ... Mitsubishi G4M The Mitsubishi G4M (一式陸上攻撃機:Type 1 land-based attack aircraft; Allied reporting name Betty) was a twin-engined, land-based bomber aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The bomber is nicknamed the Betty by the American military. ... Ohka at the Yasukuni Shrine The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka (桜花 cherry blossom) was a purpose-built kamikaze aircraft employed by Japan towards the end of World War II. The US gave the aircraft the Japanese name Baka (fool). It was a small flying bomb that was carried underneath a Mitsubishi... Navy Kamikaze pilot with the rank of Lieutenant (Chui) receives orders, pilots stand at attention in formation. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ... The Bell X-1, originally XS-1 was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in controlled, level flight. ... It has been suggested that hypersonic be merged into this article or section. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... The Convair (Consolidated Vultee) B-36 was a strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force, the first to have truly intercontinental range. ... The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was a fighter aircraft, conceived during World War II and intended to be carried in the bomb bay of the giant Convair B-36 bomber as a defensive parasite fighter. ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ... The Bell X-2 was an American research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2_3 range. ... Mach number (Ma) (pronounced: mæk, mɑːk) is defined as a ratio of the speed of an object or flow relative to the speed of sound in the medium through which it is travelling: Vo/Vs where Vo is the speed of the object and Vs is the speed... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Republic Aviation F-84 Thunderjet was an American-built turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range jet strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1954. ... The X-15 in flight, early 1960s The North American X-15 rocket plane was perhaps the most important of the USAF/USN X-series of experimental aircraft, after only possibly the Bell X-1. ... Mach number (Ma) is defined as a ratio of speed to the speed of sound in the medium in case. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The X-24 was an experimental US aircraft developed from a joint USAF-NASA program named PILOT (1963-1975). ... The lifting body is an aircraft configuration where the body itself produces lift. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The DC-130 is a variant of C-130 Hercules, designed for drone control. ... The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird and by its crews as the Habu, was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works (also responsible for the U-2). ... The Lockheed D-21 Tagboard was a Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone that began development in October 1962. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... The Boeing 747, commonly called a Jumbo Jet, is one of the most recognizable of all jet airliners and is the largest airliner currently in service. ... The Space Shuttle Enterprise (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first Space Shuttle built for NASA. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield and was therefore not capable of space operations; her purpose was to perform test flights in the atmosphere. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as just L-1011 (pronounced ell-ten-eleven), was the third widebody passenger jet airliner to enter operation, following the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. ... Pegasus rocket on the ground Pegasus rocket attached to bottom of carrier aircraft The Pegasus rocket is a winged space booster developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital). ... MILSTAR:A communication satellite A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... This article is about the year. ... SpaceShipOne and White Knight during a captive carry test flight The Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight is a jet-powered carrier aircraft used to launch the SpaceShipOne experimental spacecraft. ... Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOnes patch The Scaled Composites Model 316 SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched suborbital spaceplane that uses a hybrid rocket motor. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NASA technicians working on the X-43A at the tip of a Pegasus rocket attached to a Boeing B-52B prior to launch (March 27, 2004) The X-43 is an unmanned experimental hypersonic aircraft design with multiple planned scale variations meant to test different aspects of highly supersonic flight. ... In aerodynamics, hypersonic speeds are speeds that are highly supersonic. ... The Boeing X-37 is a demonstration spaceplane that is intended to test future launch technologies while in orbit and during atmospheric reentry. ... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military. ... A spaceplane is a rocket plane designed to pass the edge of space. ...

See also

• Parasite fighter