Early X-22 Artwork

A Bell Aerospace painting of a not-final design of the X-22. The X-22 was a VTOL technology testbed; having seen it up close, it is remarkably small, and it worked reasonably well. Bell had hopes that it would serve as the basis of a Tri-Service transport (such as the D-2022 and D-2064 shown in upper right HERE), but the technology went no further. It would be interesting to ponder what an assault on Osamas compound might’ve looked like had the assault craft been evolved, stealthed X-22 derivatives. Noise would have been a major concern, though. To first order, an air jet that provides a constant level of thrust gets louder the smaller the diameter gets. Thus a vast helicopter blade would make a low “whop-whop” noise, while a small ducted prop like on the X-22 would make a loud roar… and a rocket engine would scream and turn nearby witnesses brains into Silly Putty.

Compare this artwork to this earlier-posted B&W painting, and this similar concept.