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The SR-71 Blackbird's Predecessor Created "Plasma Stealth" By Burning Cesium-Laced Fuel
The War Zone ^ | 12 Sept 2019 | JOSEPH TREVITHICK

Posted on 09/14/2019 5:34:56 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT

the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force's iconic SR-71 Blackbird ... also incorporated then-state-of-the-art features to reduce its radar cross-section. These included a combination of a stealthy overall shape and radar-evading structures, as well as the use of composites in its construction, and the incorporation of radar absorbing materials on its skin. A far less known, but still a key component of the Skunk Works plan to make the A-12 harder to spot on radar involved a cesium-laced fuel additive to dramatically reduce the radar signature of the plane's massive engine exhausts and afterburner plumes by creating an ionizing cloud behind the aircraft to help conceal its entire rear aspect from radar waves.

With the exception of the inlet spikes, these added features made heavy use of composite, radar-absorbing materials. Lockheed also developed a special "iron paint," sometimes referred to as the "iron ball paint" because the mixture contained tiny iron balls, to help absorb radar waves. The special blend, which was also applied to the SR-71, reportedly cost $400 per quart in the 1960s.

The basic principle behind this is a concept known as “plasma stealth.” In the simplest terms, this involves creating a cloud of plasma, or ionized gas, around some or all of an object. The plasma then absorbs electromagnetic radiation, such as radar waves, preventing them from reflecting back. There are multiple ways to generate the required plasma Lovick’s idea was to inject an alkali metal, via a fuel additive, into the extremely hot exhaust streams, where the heat would turn it into an ionized gas.

If nothing else, though, the development of the A-50 additive is another intriguing and very obscure part of the story of the A-12, as well as its successor, the SR-71, much of which still remains unknown to this day, ...

(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: a12; a50; aeronautics; aerospace; aviation; cesium; fuel; fueladditives; ironballs; ironpaint; lockheed; plasma; plasmastealth; radar; skunkworks; spying; sr71; stealth
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Yes, fill it up with cesium premium blend, please.
1 posted on 09/14/2019 5:34:56 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Good post but, uh...I thought this measure was still on the black side..?

No..?

Well, I guess not now, eh?

Wow.


2 posted on 09/14/2019 5:38:45 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: gaijin

From 2011:
...Dr. Abernethy, Pratt & Whitney states that he was working on a project for the “Navy” in 1957. Developing a remote site for scrubbing exhaust from the J-58 engine that would use “poison fuels”.

In 2007 the CIA released the OXCART document written by Kelly Johnson. He told of the use of cesium and that it was responsible for the existence of the Blackbirds.

...Ed Lovick’s more trustworthy Version of a A-12 design proposal review meeting late summer 1959
The exhausts were 60 inches in diameter so they returned large amounts of energy at all frequencies of interest and over large angles to the rear.

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/was-area-51-book-now-cesium-additives-in-jp-7.13095/


3 posted on 09/14/2019 5:57:46 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message.)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Very good post and thread, thank you.

Makes me wonder what how much more advanced the SR-72 must be, if, uh....if it exists.


4 posted on 09/14/2019 6:00:04 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Use cesium-137 over enemy territory andkill 2 birds...


5 posted on 09/14/2019 6:02:59 PM PDT by NonValueAdded ("Sorry, your race card has been declined. Can you present any other form of argument?")
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To: gaijin

It’s probably set up to run with ethanol.


6 posted on 09/14/2019 6:03:14 PM PDT by wally_bert (Hola. Me llamo Inspector Carlton Lassiter. Me gusta queso.)
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To: gaijin

It would likely have a different designation anyway.


7 posted on 09/14/2019 6:08:02 PM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

In before the poison contrails posts....

:)


8 posted on 09/14/2019 6:16:17 PM PDT by volunbeer (Find the truth and accept it - anything else is delusional)
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To: volunbeer

the poison contrails posts....

No! Not the poison contrails discussion!

I was hoping that had become passe.


9 posted on 09/14/2019 6:29:31 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message.)
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To: gaijin

There were unconfirmed reports about the SR-72 dating back to 2007, when various sources disclosed that Lockheed Martin was developing an airplane able to fly six times the speed of sound or Mach 6 (4,000 mph; 6,400 km/h; 3,500 kn) for the United States Air Force.[ Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ development work on the SR-72 was first published by Aviation Week & Space Technology on 1 November 2013.Public attention to the news was large enough to overwhelm the Aviation Week servers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_SR-72


10 posted on 09/14/2019 6:33:38 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message.)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Cesium reacts violently with water. So much so that just the moisture in the air is enough to make it react . Needless to say it’s not found in its elemental state naturally .


11 posted on 09/14/2019 6:55:50 PM PDT by Nateman (If the left is not screaming, you are doing it wrong.)
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To: Nateman

If you’re turning it into plasma with SR-71 exhaust, would you need elemental Cs?


12 posted on 09/14/2019 7:01:36 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

I have used cesium formate drilling fluid one time in an uneconomic effort to prevent formation damage. It was the same price per barrel as unobtainum.

There were two rocket fuel plants built back in the 60s and I don’t think the fuel from either one was ever used. One was in Muskogee, Oklahoma and the other was near Neosho, Missouri. I know the fuel from the plant at Muskogee not used and the plant was torn down. Never did know the full plan, product or problems.

I still believe there was access to alien technology to build the SR-71. :)


13 posted on 09/14/2019 7:04:12 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (We are governed by the consent of the governed and we are fools for allowing it.)
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To: FreedomPoster

Cesium is a metal at room temperature but with just a little heat it will melt. Given its highly reactive nature it must have been added as a compound of some kind.


14 posted on 09/14/2019 7:13:09 PM PDT by Nateman (If the left is not screaming, you are doing it wrong.)
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To: Sequoyah101
I still believe there was access to alien technology to build the SR-71


(and the F117)


15 posted on 09/14/2019 7:35:51 PM PDT by Bikkuri
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To: Bikkuri

I still believe there was access to alien technology to build the SR-71

Yes, totally alien!
They called it a “sliderule”!
Analog!!! Before it was cool.


16 posted on 09/14/2019 7:43:30 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT ("The enemy has overrun us. We are blowing up everything. Vive la France!"Dien Bien Phu last message.)
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To: gaijin

With what the X-37B space plane can do, and its multi-year endurance on-orbit, there’s no real need for an ultra expensive air-breathing manned vehicle.


17 posted on 09/14/2019 7:44:09 PM PDT by Tallguy (Facts be d@mned! The narrative must be protected at all costs!)
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To: Tallguy
With what the X-37B space plane can do, and its multi-year endurance on-orbit, there’s no real need for an ultra expensive air-breathing manned vehicle.

Different tools for different jobs. Considering the size and dimensions, I'm thinking we're already testing stasis technology. Either that, or sending up some poor soul for extremely long-duration missions in space.

18 posted on 09/14/2019 7:49:39 PM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Haven’t a clue what you all are talking about but I’ve heard of sliderules.


19 posted on 09/14/2019 8:05:03 PM PDT by The Westerner (Protect the most vulnerable: get the government out of medicine, education and our forests.)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Anyone remember a FLIT insecticide shortage 1955? Shell’s production of LF-1A was requisitioned.


20 posted on 09/14/2019 9:09:37 PM PDT by Ozark Tom
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