The McDonnell Douglas X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft was built in the late ‘90s in collaboration with NASA with the objective to reduce weight and drag while increasing range, maneuverability, and, most importantly, survivability.To achieve all these goals, they decided to get rid of the traditional empennage found on most aircraft, a feat that many contractors and government organizations had tried for decades.But that wasn’t its only impressive asset. The aircraft had a remotely-piloted design through which it was flown by a pilot sitting safely on a chair in a ground-based virtual cockpit with a camera mounted on the plane to provide the view.The unique configuration, which also gave it a one-of-a-kind futuristic look, helped the program move along in a short window of time and be ready in less than two years.Its future now rested on either NASA or McDonnell Douglas, which were both impressed with the invaluable, yet niche, knowledge it provided during its testing phases…