ISNT IT FUNNY HOW WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO GO PAST MACH 7 YET THE GOV WONT ADMIT THAT WE HOLD THE TECHNOLOGY TILL ABOUT 40 Yrs FROM NOW. HUH STRANGE. THATS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE STELTH FIGHTER.( f-117 )
The US Air Force, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Northrop Corp. teamed up for the TACIT BLUE Technology Demonstration Program from 1978 to 1985. TACIT BLUE validated a number of innovative stealth technology advances. Most notably, it was the first aircraft to demonstrate a low radar cross section using curved surfaces, along with a low probability of intercept radar and data link. TACIT BLUE initially was created to demonstrate that a low observable surveillance aircraft with a low probability of intercept radar and other sensors could operate close to the forward line of battle with a high degree of survivability. Such an aircraft could continuously monitor the ground situation behind the battlefield and provide targeting information in real-time to a ground command center. TACIT BLUE was one of the most successful technology demonstrator programs in Air Force history, meeting all program objectives and most low observable and sensor performance goals. The aircraft made its first flight in February 1982, and subsequently logged 135 flights over a three year period. The aircraft often achieved three to four flights weekly and several times flew more than once a day. TACIT BLUE featured a straight, tapered wing with a "Vee" tail mounted on an oversized fuselage with a curved shape. It had a wingspan of 48.2 feet and a length of 55.8 feet and weighed 30,000 pounds. A single flush inlet on the top of the fuselage provided air to two high-bypass turbofan engines. TACIT BLUE employed a quadruply-redundant, digital fly-by-wire flight control system to help stabilize the aircraft about the longitudinal and directional axes. The TACIT BLUE program cost approximately $165 million and covered development, construction and flight test. As the prime contractor, Northrop received a $136 million contract to provide one complete technology demonstrator and a partially-developed back-up airframe. The program provided valuable engineering data that aided in the B-2 "Spirit" design. Orignal press release: Air Force Unveils TACIT BLUE Stealth Aircraft AIR FORCE UNVEILS STEALTH TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR Release No. 01-04-96 April 30, 1996 Washington DC -- The Air Force announced today one of its most successful technology demonstration programs when it unveiled "TACIT BLUE" an aircraft which provided valuable engineering data and validated innovative stealth technology advances that aided in the B-2 design, as well as other platforms. The once highly-classified program ran from 1978 to 1985 and was unveiled today because the technologies and capabilities are currently in operational use and knowledge of the program no longer needs protection. The team included experts from the United States Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The program cost approximately $165 million and was executed under a contract to Northrop Corp. as the prime contractor. TACIT BLUE was developed and tested at several different locations and flown by both Air Force and contractor pilots. "TACIT BLUE was a leading edge program that took innovative stealth technologies out of laboratory and onto the flightline. The team of professionals who worked on this successful program serve as an example of the what can be achieved when industry and government work together," said Arthur L. Money, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition). TACIT BLUE featured a straight, tapered wing with a "Vee" tail mounted on an oversized fuselage with a curved shape. It had a wingspan of approximately 48 feet and a length of 55 feet and weighed 30,000 pounds. A single flush inlet on the top of the fuselage provided air to two high-bypass turbofan engines. Only one complete airframe was ever flown, although a second airframe shell was constructed to serve as a backup. TACIT BLUE is undergoing final preparations to include painting, de-arming the ejection seat and canopy, purging all fuels, oils and lubricants as well as the hydraulic system, etc., that must be completed before public viewing and access at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. It is scheduled to be unveiled at the United States Air Force Museum on May 22, 1996, where it will remain on permanent display.
Generally regarded as a fourth generation low-observable design, the A-17 is thought to have evolved from the YF-23A ATF. Shaped with complex curves and compound curvature, the A-17 is contoured to minimise radar and aerothermal signature as it carries out it's mission of electronic warfare and deep reconnaissance. The engine exhaust geometry is reminiscent of the B-2, where the aft section of the engine nacelle slopes down to meet the aft trailing edge of the tail. The engine exhaust is buried deep within the trough, effectively masking the InfraRed signature from observation from below. The two largevertical tail surfaces, serve to mask the exhaust from the sides. No white world pictures exist of the aircraft, but sightings have been reported at Bascombe Down in the UK, and Cannon AFB, New Mexico.
1990 GROOM LAKE, NEVADA, USA In the early hours of the morning on January 30, 1992, people all over Southern California were awakened by a loud boom. It was not the first to rattle window panes in Los Angeles, nor has it been the last. US Geological Survey specialists looked at their seismographs, which registered the event as if it had been another earth tremor. A few hours later, they decided the disturbance had been caused by an unidentified flying object traveling at Mach 3.1. They even figured out where it was heading - straight for the US Air Force's top secret Groom Lake base in Nevada. In spite of official denials, the evidence indicates that the United States is operating a very fast, very secret spy plane. Most people call it Aurora, after an item listed by mistake in a 1985 Pentagon budget document, though it most probably has another code name. The strongest evidence for the existence of Aurora is that the US Air Force retired its Lockheed SR-71 Blackbirds in 1990 without replacing them. The Air Force says its spying can be done by U-2s and satellites, but neither are as responsive as a supersonic highflying craft such as the SR-71. Eye witnesses have seen unusual triangle-shaped aircraft in flight over the United States and the United Kingdom's North Sea. Several have heard a distinctive low frequency rumble followed by a very loud roar, which could be the exotic engine used by a Mach 6 (4,400 miles per hour) aircraft. Experts say a methane-burning combined cycle ramjet engine (uniting rocket and ramjet designs) could have been developed to power Aurora. Observers in California have also reported seeing a large aircraft with a delta-wing shape and foreplanes. Some think this could be an airborne launch platform for satellite-delivery rockets or even the Aurora, before its more advanced engines were developed. No matter what speculation takes place, it seems the secrets that lie beyond the mountains of the Nevada desert will remain until the US military decides otherwise.
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