Posted on 04/02/2021 7:18:04 AM PDT by PIF
When it comes to phantom aircraft that are the product of 'bleeding-edge' technologies and supposedly exist only in the shadows, the so-called RQ-180 is unrivaled in our time. The existence of this high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) stealth drone has all but been officially disclosed. Specters of its existence and growing maturity seem to materialize around every turn, and as of November 2020, the public may have gotten its first glimpse of this aircraft that has existed behind a veil of secrecy and innuendo for over a decade. This is the first in a three-part series - the product of a ghost hunt of sorts that has lasted well over two years - that tells the story - as best as we can piece it together - of what is likely the most important military aircraft of a generation.
what is this aircraft supposed to do and why does it exist?
This is an impossible question for us to answer definitively at this time, and details are bound to change, in some cases possibly significantly, but drawing on a large number of clues, open-source information, historical precedent, capability gaps, emerging technologies, ongoing procurement and development initiatives, the picture, at least as we see it, becomes somewhat clear.
... the RQ-180 could be defined as a networking and reconnaissance platform that is capable of penetrating and persisting deep into enemy airspace. We are talking about a large, twin-engine, flying wing aircraft with slender laminar-flow optimized wings. Its overall design is largely motivated by highly advanced, broadband, all-aspect, very low-observable (stealth) requirements. It is meant to fly at very high altitudes in contested airspace, at or in excess of 70,000 feet, for very long periods of time without ever being detected.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
And Autocad................
If you think that the powers-that-be will NOT put or not think of putting, a weapon onboard, you are low on oxygen. Mission or not!
A familiar ploy. Use the same or similar secret names of projects which are already likely compromised so the field agents will consider the Intel to be low value.
You forgot Air Force bases. Somehow those must bee magically invulnerable. We’ve heard all that before about air power. We bombed Germany for years and never won until ships and tanks went in. Bombed Hanoi into oblivion, no winning from the air. Desert storm saw Iraq wiped out from the air, but they didn’t cave without tanks and ships.
Blue suits can get a bit of hubris from time to time.
Ahh, the typical post from PIF. Long on insults to fellow FReepers, very, very short on facts.
Well, I am thinking that the US does not want to be buying these a lot. I also believe that absent the SR-71 type speed, there will be a point in time where it will be detectable and then will be vulnerable. Without that speed, the shoot down potiential is much higher as it would only be able to rely on it’s stealth capability to keep from being detected. That strategy sounds very much like the U@ spy plane and we know how that ended.
Being able to shoot down incoming anti aircraft missles will allow for it to have a much longer usability envelope.
Well, I am thinking that the US does not want to be buying these a lot. I also believe that absent the SR-71 type speed, there will be a point in time where it will be detectable and then will be vulnerable. Without that speed, the shoot down potiential is much higher as it would only be able to rely on it’s stealth capability to keep from being detected. That strategy sounds very much like the U@ spy plane and we know how that ended.
Being able to shoot down incoming anti aircraft missles will allow for it to have a much longer usability envelope.
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BTW: U2s are still flying missions; they didn’t end.
If you had read the article u would have learned that the (EQ) RQ-180 will have the ability to call on other resources to defend itself like hyper missiles launched from a ship thousands of miles away. Why carry defensive armament when you can call in defensive missiles that will arrive in minutes or less on a well defined target before the target knows it has a problem?
Every thing is a trade off, u want low detectability, survivability, and exotic comm gear, then speed and onboard missiles or lasers begin to compromise the purpose and mission.
Everything on a battlefield is vulnerable at some point - you must also imagine there is only one of these drones present.
The SR-71 was not designed to loiter miles above a battlefield while communication enemy locations, dispositions, and threat types to multiply platforms (ships, drones, planes, ground, stations, and forces) in real time. Nor was the SR-71 stealthy - just fast.
Well if you had actually read the article, you would not have made the comment you did, as it was just silly. The facts you crave are in the article, I have no need or obligation to regurgitate them for your viewing pleasure, when you can read them for yourself.
Had you read the article you would have learned the EQ/RQ-180 has remote weapons like hyper-sonic missiles launched from ships thousands of miles away which can target hostiles before they know they are targeted.
Few, if any, ELINT/SIGINT aerial assents have defensive missiles or weapons - mostly they have jammers and flares. Their survivability on the battlefield is sometimes measured in minutes or seconds. For instance, during the Cold War in Germany, helicopters had a life expectancy of 15 seconds in combat.
We are in a new nukular arms race, only this time it’s not about splitting the atom, it’s about autonomous robots. And this time it’s not about secret technology, it’s about stuff you could buy (the “ghetto” version of) off the shelf at Radio Shack (if Radio Shack were still in business).
This stuff takes much less time and money to develop than the atom bombs did. And the technology and basic components are available to the entire world via the Internet. So the less affluent nations of the world get to play, too. And it isn’t just nation states, any group (or individual) with sufficient intellectual and financial assets can play, and even those entry requirements aren’t very steep.
So the proliferation of these weapons is going to be vastly more widespread, and potentially every bit as destructive as nukes, just without the radioactive fallout. And the only way to stay ahead in this contest is to continue developing, both weapons systems and countermeasures, like your life depended on it.
Because it does.
I quoted the section I was commenting on. All you ever have is piss, vinegar and insults. Never FACTS.
Tyler must mean “formerly secretive”...
If you’ll use the width=xx% modifier with your img HTML tag, your image won’t badly overscan like this one does.
Example <img width=80% ...
A once wise man said “When you see the Death Star rise up over the horizon, would you rather see it adorned with the stars and stripes, or the Chinese flag?”
I’m afraid it will be American, but flying the LGBTQ+ flag.
What section did you quote, and if you did quote something, you obscured that fact. As for your insults, thanks, very bracing will make me stronger.
Bye Bye
Post #33. Take a reading comprehension class.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3947283/posts?page=33#33
There is nothing in Post #33 to indicate a quote, which in modern English is always enclosed with quotation marks, Mr Troll. Oh, and thanks for the added insult.
You’re in no position to be a spelling nor grammar NAZI because your reading comprehension skills are so low. Take.That.Critical.Thinking.Class.
Mr Zot is looking for you
Yet another fact-free assertion from you — this time an irrelevant one. It’s like you go out of your WAY to avoid posting pertinent facts.
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