In December of 2019, Walt Disney World opened the Rise of the Resistance attraction at its then-new "Star Wars": Galaxy's Edge area. What better way to celebrate than by partnering with Boeing's NeXt division to transform a pair of experimental garden shed-sized 20-by-17.5-foot drones into X-wings for the opening ceremonies? (Don't worry -- if you missed them, you can see the Boeing X-wings on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.)
The Boeing CV2 Cargo Air Vehicle doesn't operate the way an actual X-wing starfighter would, of course. In "Star Wars," according to Wookiepedia, the T65B X-wing uses four 4j.4 fusial thrust engines. To power these engines, manufacturer Incom installs a Novaldex 04-Z cryogenic power generator and a set of cryogenic capacitors inside the S-foils. There also are four GBk-585 hyperdrive motivators for entering hyperspace. How else would you exceed the speed of light?
Boeing's X-wing, conversely, is an experimental drone with X-wing body cladding. But the underlying electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is still cool as far as real-world technology goes, with its six pairs of stacked propellers (12 total) providing redundancy in case one motor fails, as well as enough thrust to carry 500 pounds. Boeing NeXt started prototyping in 2017 and wind tunnel testing in 2018, completing 150 test flights by the following year.
While the CV2's future looked promosing, Boeing NeXt was shut down in 2020 after major financial hits because of Boeing's 737 Max grounding headaches and the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe if they'd settled for some plain cubicles instead of pouring cash into HOK-designed offices with "liquid metal" ceilings, glass-plate coffee tables suspended from propellor nose cones, and flying-saucer lighting, they could have saved a few bucks.