Forge and Flight Labs confirmed today the first successful test flight of X-Lance, an experimental turbojet-powered unmanned platform developed as part of the company’s autonomous airspace protection research program. The milestone flight took place May 11, 2026, at the company’s North Carolina test facility.
X-Lance in flight during its first test, May 11, 2026. Forge and Flight Labs, North Carolina.
The Program
X-Lance is a fixed-wing, turbojet-powered experimental platform developed entirely through company-funded research and development. It is not a surveillance platform. The concept is built around a single mission: autonomous airspace protection.
The loyal wingman architecture positions X-Lance to operate in coordination with larger manned or unmanned platforms, executing airspace interdiction tasks under human supervisory control. The design is defensive in nature, oriented toward protecting airspace from threats rather than projecting force beyond it.
This is not a derivative of Forge and Flight Labs’ existing Group 1-3 NDAA-compliant platform line. X-Lance represents a separate capability tier, a research program into what autonomous airspace protection at speed actually requires from both a hardware and software standpoint.
The Test
The May 11 test achieved the primary objective: controlled, sustained flight under turbojet power. The test team confirmed stable flight characteristics in the target performance envelope. No anomalies to report.
Performance targets for the X-Lance program are aggressive. The development team is pursuing sustained speeds approaching Mach 1.4, a capability tier that places the platform in a class with very few unmanned systems of its size. The May 11 flight established the foundation for a progressive test series that will advance the envelope toward that target.
What This Means
High-speed autonomous airspace protection is an unsolved problem at the tactical level. The systems that exist to address airborne threats are either large, expensive, and dependent on fixed infrastructure, or small, slow, and limited in engagement envelope. X-Lance is an attempt to close that gap from a different direction: a domestically manufactured, autonomy-native, turbojet-powered platform designed from the first CAD file for this mission.
May 11 proved the propulsion concept works. The rest of the development program will prove the mission concept works.
The X-Lance program is currently in the experimental phase. No production timeline or pricing is available. Defense organizations with requirements in this capability area are welcome to contact Forge and Flight Labs through the standard channel.
Forge and Flight Labs is the UAS platform design and manufacturing subsidiary of Forge & Flight Holdings, Inc., CAGE 18VF2 · SAM Active. All platform development is conducted in North Carolina.