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NASA's single-seat F-16XL on a research flight over the desert near the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The aircraft was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP) to test boundary layer pressures and distribution.
Previously it had been used in a program to investigate the characteristics of sonic booms for NASA's High Speed Research Program. Data from the program could be used in the development of a high speed civilian transport. During the series of sonic boom research flights, the F-16XL was used to probe the shock waves being generated by a NASA SR-71 and record their shape and intensity.