Northrop Grumman Corp.’s modified F-5E Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) aircraft flies off the wing of NASA’s F-15B Research testbed aircraft.

In a role-reversal, Northrop Grumman Corp.'s modified F-5E Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) aircraft flies off the wing of NASA's F-15B Research testbed aircraft. The F-15B, from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, flew in the supersonic shockwave of the F-5E as part of the SSBD project. Following the two aircraft is an unmodified U.S. Navy F-5E used for baseline sonic boom measurements.