oblique wing would be positioned perpendicular to the fuselage like a conventional wing to provide maximum lift and control qualities. As the aircraft gained speed, the wing would be pivoted to increase the oblique angle, thereby reducing the drag due to wetted area, and decreasing fuel consumption. Alternatively, at Mach numbers increasing towards the speed of sound and beyond, wave drag dominates design concerns. As the aircraft displaces the air, a sonic wave is generated. Sweeping the wings away from the nose of the aircraft can keep the wings aft of the sonic wave, greatly reducing drag. Unfortunately, for a given wing design, increasing sweep decreases the aspect ratio. At high speeds, both subsonic and supersonic, an oblique wing would be pivoted at up to 60 degrees to the aircraft's fuselage for better high-speed performance. The studies showed these angles would decrease aerodynamic drag, permitting increased speed and longer range with the same fuel expenditure. Fundamentally, it appears that no design can be completely optimized for both flight regimes. However, the oblique wing shows promise of getting close. By actively increasing sweep as Mach number increases, high efficiency is possible for a wide range of speeds. It is theorized that an oblique flying wing could drastically improve commercial air transportation, reducing fuel costs and noise in the vicinity of airports. Military operations include the possibility of a long–endurance fighter/attack vehicle. NASA OFW airliner research There have been investigations into an OFW platform being developed into a transcontinental airliner. NASA Ames performed a preliminary design study of a theoretical 500-seat supersonic airliner using the concept in 1991. Following this study, NASA built a small remote-controlled demonstrator aircraft with a 20-foot (6.1m) wingspan. It flew only once, for four minutes in May 1994, but in doing so, it demonstrated stable flight with oblique wing sweep from 35 degrees to 50 degrees. Despite this success, the NASA High Speed Research program, and further oblique wing studies, were canceled. DARPA Oblique Flying-Wing (OFW) Project The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Northrop Grumman a $10.3 million (USD) contract for risk reduction and preliminary planning for an X-plane OFW demonstrator, known as the Switchblade. That program was eventually cancelled, citing difficulties with control systems. The program aimed at producing a technology demonstrator aircraft to explore the various challenges which the radical design entails. The proposed aircraft would be a pure flying wing