US secret plane uncovered

[dboyseeker]

Remember the secret plane spotted in Kandahar? The one that looked like a Nazi stealth plane? Well, it's been spotted again, but this time the picture is crystal clear, and it doesn't look like anything in the US arsenal.

There's a possibility that it may have a canopy above the nose, which means it could be a very small manned plane instead of a UAV. On the other side, it could just be the air intake. Its buttocks look like those of the P175 Polecat, a design by Skunk Works—Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs.

[shatnerswig]

wow thats the 1st thing I thought of ... I think it was called the horton flying wing

[dboyseeker]

Dec 3, 2009 10:55:39 GMT 10 shatnerswig said:

wow thats the 1st thing I thought of ... I think it was called the horton flying wing

yea there are different versions of that too... this does some somewhat smaller in length though?

[brillbilly]

its similer to polcat but as you say looks smaller

[dboyseeker]

USAF reveals RQ-170 Sentinel is new stealth UAV



A stealthy unmanned aircraft system developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works division has secretly joined the US Air Force inventory.

The USAF confirms that the RQ-170 Sentinel is in development, and is expected "to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward-deployed combat forces", according to a statement released on 4 December.

The announcement comes after a series of images of a jet-powered, stealthy aircraft have appeared on the internet since last April, including a clear shot of the aircraft that circulated widely in early December.

But it was not immediately clear whether the aircraft shown in pictures and the RQ-170 are the same. Besides describing the RQ-170 as stealthy, the USAF released no further technical information about its new UAV, or any photos.

The RQ-170 is flown by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron, a unit reactivated by the USAF at the Tonopah Test Range in California on 1 September 2005, according to a service fact sheet.

In a news release about a change of command, dated 10 August, the USAF described the 30th as a "developmental UAS squadron under the 432nd Wing, Air Combat Command".

The RQ-170 joins the USAF's growing inventory of large surveillance aircraft, which includes the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems RQ-1 Predator/MQ-9 Reaper. But the Sentinel appears to be the first publicly acknowledged operational UAS designed for stealth.

The Sentinel's confirmed existence also sheds new light on Lockheed's activity in the large UAS market, which was previously considered to be undeveloped.

Lockheed's Dark Star unmanned air vehicle lost a competition in the late 1990s to the Global Hawk. Since then, Lockheed unveiled the P175 Polecat, a stealthy, high-altitude UAS, but the only known example crashed during a flight test.

www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/07/335875/usaf-reveals-rq-170-sentinel-is-new-stealth-uav.html

[brillbilly]

The United States Air Force is developing a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward deployed Combat Forces. The RQ-170 Sentinel, a low observable UAS, was built by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP). The fielding of the RQ-170 aligns with Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates' request for increased intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support to the Combatant Commanders and AF Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz's vision for an increased USAF reliance on unmanned aircraft. The RQ-170 is flown by Air Combat command (ACC), 432d Wing at Creech AFB, NV, 30th Reconnaissance Squadron at Tonopah Test Range, NV.
Take a good look at the first sentence. Note the use of the term "is developing". Given the ample photograph evidence of the presumed RQ-170 accumulated to date, one might assume the term "has developed" would be more appropriate. It suggests, of course, the aircraft remains in its developmental stage. Both the RQ-4 Global Hawk and RQ-1 Predator were deployed before they were fully developed, so that's not a huge surprise.
The statement also leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Why was a stealthy UAS developed and apparently deployed to Afghanistan in secret? What advantage does a steathy UAS provide in a war against an insurgent force lacking a radar-based air defense system? For that matter, can we be absolutely certain that the RQ-170 is the same as the UAV that has appeared in at least three online photos? ;D

[Deleted]

For months, aerospace writers have been hot on the trail of a secret drone rumored to be flying over Afghanistan. Now, a French journalist has successfully captured a picture of this mysterious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which experts have linked to defense giant Lockheed Martin.

This photo, taken in Kandahar, provides more evidence to claims that unidentified drones are flying over Afghanistan, to go along with well-known models -- such as the Predator UAV -- long acknowledged by the Pentagon. A vexing question remains, though: What's it being used for?

www.sphere.com/article/photo-captures-mystery-drone-operating-over-afghanistan/19262335

[Deleted]

Strangely enough, thats not the same plane as the first photo, how many of these things do they have?

[brillbilly]

atleast 10

[concrete]

I dunno. It looks too small to carry anything. It does look like a drone though.
Maybe a jet powered drone that creates a jamming signal (EMP generator) for something else following behind?