The goal of the program was to demonstrate a VTOL aircraft design that can take off vertically and efficiently hover, while flying faster than conventional rotorcraft.

[1] All competitors for the program opted to demonstrate their concepts using an unmanned aerial vehicle even though it was not required, but the technologies were intended to be applied to manned aircraft as well.

[6] In September 2022, DARPA initiated the ANCILLARY program to develop a small VTOL uncrewed aerial system (UAS) with low weight, high payload, and long endurance capabilities, X-plane flight tests scheduled for 2026.

[12][13] On 18 March 2014, DARPA announced that Sikorsky, Aurora Flight Sciences, Boeing, and Karem Aircraft had been selected to compete for the VTOL X-plane.

The name of Aurora's submission was revealed as the LightningStrike in February and although the design was unknown, the company has a history of producing ducted fan and hybrid propulsion aircraft.

Sikorsky teamed with Lockheed Martin for a "low complexity" design that combined fixed wing aerodynamics and advanced rotor control.