“I was blown away when I pulled over and saw the future in front of my eyes,” said aviation photographer Ricky Schol after a late-evening sighting at Long Beach Airport.
Ricky Schol’s sighting at Long Beach Airport
Schol, who told TWZ he has 16 years of aviation photography experience at the historic airport, said he was driving home when he noticed “a bright light coming from a hangar I haven’t seen open in a long time.” He doubled back, pulled over, and photographed a large, sleek airframe from roughly 100 feet away. Schol said the silhouette and lack of a visible cockpit initially made him think of an F-117 Nighthawk and left him “with a very curious feeling.” He shared multiple images with TWZ and posts some of his work on Instagram at @aggressoraviation_.
Identification: the RAVN X mockup
Photographers’ inquiries and a review of markings led to an identification: the airframe is the RAVN X, a carrier aircraft concept developed by Aevum Aerospace of Huntsville, Alabama. The airframe bears the FAA N Number N567RX, which TWZ reports has been reserved by Aevum to an address at Long Beach Airport. The aircraft visible at the airport appears to be a mockup rather than a flight-capable prototype; Schol reported he did not hear engines or see exhaust as it was placed on the runway and moved “a little bit, but not much.”
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End the scrambleThe RAVN X’s announced specifications and ambitions
When Aevum first introduced the RAVN X mockup online in 2021, the company’s CEO Jay Skylus described the design as the “mothership” for a two-stage rocket system intended to place payloads into space. At that rollout the company provided specific claims: the twin-engine RAVN X reportedly weighs 55,000 pounds, measures 80 feet long, and has a 60-foot wingspan — dimensions TWZ noted are “roughly the size of an A-5 Vigilante.” The system was described as tailored for speed and intended to carry a payload of just over 1,000 pounds.
At the mockup rollout Aevum outlined an aggressive development timeline: to begin “vehicle-level testing” and pursue airworthiness certification and launch licensing, a process the company said should take 18 months; to secure Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness certification for the first-stage drone; and then to commence orbital launch tests from Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida, by late 2021. TWZ reports it is unclear whether any of those milestones were achieved.
Gunter’s Space Page on the program’s public activity
Outside of the 2021 mockup rollout, public records appear sparse. TWZ cites Gunter’s Space Page, which tracks launches, noting that Aevum rolled out a mockup in December 2020 “(although claimed to be a real prototype), but no further activities have been noticed so far.” Gunter’s added that it was “doubtful, that any real hardware has been produced so far,” and that “by August 2024, all activities seem to have stopped.” TWZ also reports that the company’s website does not provide recent details about RAVN X.
What this means for aviation photographers, the FAA, and Aevum Aerospace
- Aviation photographers and local observers: the Long Beach exposure provided a rare public view of a high-profile mockup many had not expected to see again; Schol and other photographers were present as the airframe was moved out and then returned to the hangar.
- The Federal Aviation Administration: TWZ notes an N-number — N567RX — has been reserved to an airport address, a formal registration detail that sits alongside Aevum’s previously stated intent to seek FAA airworthiness certification for the carrier drone.
- Aevum Aerospace: the presence of a mockup at Long Beach suggests the RAVN X program remains visible in some form, even if public activity appeared to dwindle after the 2020–2021 rollout; TWZ reports it reached out to Jay Skylus and Aevum for additional details.
Photographers’ images captured a brief, low-key public moment for a program whose earlier public timeline and technical claims have since fallen quiet. TWZ says it has contacted Skylus and Aevum for more information and that “if we find out any details, we will pass them along.” The author can be reached at howard@twz.com.
Original story: https://www.twz.com/space/mysterious-black-jet-that-emerged-at-long-beach-airport-identified
