FAA backs flight tests of JetZero’s top-mounted engines

JetZero has been selected to receive $5.3 million under the fourth phase of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program, the company announced on October 28, 2026.

The funding will pay for engine and nacelle instrumentation on Jet1, the full-scale blended-wing-body demonstrator the Long Beach, California-based company is building ahead of a first flight it has scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027.

Measuring airflow around top-mounted engines

According to JetZero, the instrumentation will record airflow at the engine inlet and at the fan exit during takeoff, climb, cruise and crosswind ground operations. The company said the measurements would provide data from an operating aircraft rather than relying on engine test rigs or simulated ground-plane testing. JetZero said it would share the resulting data.

The measurements target the feature that most distinguishes the design: engines mounted on top of the airframe. JetZero says that placement reduces noise for communities around airports, one of the three areas CLEEN is meant to address alongside fuel burn and emissions.

Jet1 is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2040 engines, the model used on the Boeing 757. Under agreements announced by RTX on March 6, 2025, Collins Aerospace is designing and building the demonstrator’s nacelle structures, including the inlet, fan cowl and fan duct.

JetZero joins the FAA’s fourth CLEEN phase

The FAA launched CLEEN Phase IV in September 2026 and awarded two-year agreements to Boeing, GE Aerospace, Heart Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace and JetZero. The three previous phases, starting in 2010, ran on five-year agreements and were made up largely of established airframe, engine and component manufacturers.

Heart Aerospace announced on October 12, 2026, that it had received $2.9 million for turbogenerator work on its ES-36 hybrid-electric regional aircraft, matched by an equal company contribution. JetZero did not disclose a cost share or the total value of its project.

If JetZero’s agreement runs the two-year term the FAA describes, Jet1’s scheduled first flight would leave the in-flight portion of the work in the second half of that period.

Jet1 heads toward its 2027 first flight

Rendering of JetZero’s Jet1 blended-wing-body demonstrator, featuring two top-mounted Pratt & Whitney PW2040 engines. (Credit: JetZero)

JetZero said on August 31, 2026, when it closed a $100 million loan facility, that the Jet1 build was 40% complete as of June 2026. Scaled Composites, a Northrop Grumman company, is building the aircraft. In August 2023, the US Air Force selected JetZero to develop and flight-test its demonstrator, with the Department of Defense planning to contribute $235 million toward the project over four years.

The company is targeting entry into service for the production aircraft, Z4, in the early 2030s, with final assembly planned at the factory it broke ground on in Greensboro, North Carolina, on June 15, 2026. JetZero says the Z4 is designed to be up to 50% more fuel efficient than comparable tube-and-wing aircraft using the same propulsion technology.

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