The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype version of the planned B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration supersonic strategic bomber for the United States Air Force.Shortly before the Valkyrie program was cancelled, the NASA-funded Supersonic Transport (SST) considered a modified XB-70 as a quick and logical solution to having an operational supersonic passenger transport aircraft in the shortest amount of time.
source.image: Found And Explained
North American proposed to build two modified XB-70s especially for the SST program, with one acting as flying testbed for the new engines. The two aircraft could have been ready before any other country’s SST, according to the company.The SR-71 was 32.7 metres long. The Valkyrie was 56.4 metres long. For comparison, Concorde’s length was 61.6 metres.Watch the video from Found And Explained:
This made the XB-70 an appropriate size to study future supersonic transport (SST) aircraft. The passenger cargo variant could accommodate 80 passengers seated in an offset arrangement in standard configuration, while the high density configuration used smaller seats with reduced spacing to accommodate up to 107 passengers.
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Alternately, it could transport 72 medical patients, plus attending nurses. It was even pitched as a cargo transport, with a hinged cabin allowing the loading of cargo pallets.Needless to say, none of these ideas passed the cost-to-utility test, as the Valkyrie would’ve been the most expensive people-mover ever pressed into service.
