Posted on 12/01/2009 1:23:24 PM PST by Reaganesque
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. Whatever it is, I want one for xmas.
Looks like a UAV to me. They are getting bigger and bigger, it seems.
Looks like the thing that abducted and probed me the other night, oh wait, nevermind, that was just the passing of the health care plan ...
I’m guessing “No canopy”.
Canopies are generally clear, and whatever that is shows no sign whatsoever of transparency. I think it’s just part of the air inlet.
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=156493
Looks like the X-47B
Bookmarked to forward
Could it be manned, but covered so that the canopy doesn’t appear?
Yep, it’s clearly a UAV, probably the X-47B or a smaller variant.
Where can I get one? So, cool…better than the “Acrostar” Microjet.
It looks like a UAV based roughly on the B=2 flying wing design. Without some sense of scale it’s hard to tell for sure, but that thing does not look big enough to carry a pilot.
Bet me that what looks like a canopy could be some sort of sensor array, akin to the Aegis antenna on that class of Naval vessel.
In any case this would not be the first time we were surprised by some new variant...
It looks smaller (based on the wheelbase) than the x-45 or -47, but the intake profile looks like the boeing UAV prototypes. Ditto the wing profile. This thing is supposed to be an actual air-combat platform, with stealth. This particular one looks like it can’t carry more than 4 missiles, but it probably has a gun bay too. This isn’t some rinky-dink R/C-plane Predator. This is the real deal. High sub-mach, aerial maneuverability, moderate loiter, and substantial firepower.
At one time, Boeing was working on a plane like that where the pilot was laying down. Very high tech.
Hmmm.. only if the front wheel well covers have been modified in this variant, but I agree it is very similar.
that looks like a UAV to me, too, one design I saw on the drawing boards in news articles kind of thing
very high tech? You’re talking about the Wright Flyer.... ;)
Oh sure. Make fun of small people. So easy a small man could fly it?
:^)
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