The Stratolaunch Roc, the largest aircraft currently in operation anywhere in the world, has been sighted flying over California, offering a rare glimpse of a project that sits at the intersection of aerospace ambition, military research and unanswered questions about its future.
At 117 metres long, the Roc dwarfs every other plane in service. With its twin fuselages joined by an enormous wing, it resembles two Boeing 747s fused into a single improbable machine.
The aircraft is named after a mythical bird from Middle Eastern folklore said to be powerful enough to carry an elephant in its claws, an image that feels only slightly exaggerated given the Roc’s scale.
Footage shared on social media shows the aircraft cruising smoothly before landing at the Mojave Desert, its home base and one of the few places with a runway long enough to accommodate it. The Roc requires at least 12,000 feet of runway, immediately ruling out almost every commercial airport on the planet.
Built by US aerospace firm Stratolaunch Systems, the aircraft was rolled out in 2017 and completed its first flight two years later. Powered by six Boeing 747 engines, it has a payload capacity of more than 226,000 kilograms.
Its intended role is not passenger travel but as a launch platform for hypersonic test vehicles, including the Talon-A, part of efforts to develop next-generation military technology.
Stratolaunch has also long spoken of using the aircraft to launch rockets into space from high altitude, an idea that promises flexibility but has yet to materialise at scale.
Speaking after a test flight in 2023, the company’s president, Zachary Krevor, said the team was closing in on safe separation and its first hypersonic flight tests.
Despite its technical achievements, uncertainty hangs over the Roc. After an early successful flight, it was reportedly put up for sale for $400m, with potential interest from high-profile figures in the space industry. No deal followed, leaving the world’s biggest plane flying, for now, without a clear destination.
