UFO Sighted Over Afghanistan Is US Secret Airplane

gizmodo ^ | May 13 2009 | Jesus Diaz

[JoeProBono]

Looks like the US military has a new secret aircraft. Either that or the Nazis are taking over the world again, because according to other photos this looks like the Luftwaffe's Go229 Flying Wing:

[JoeProBono]

__________________________

This an artist rendering based on (not so) classified and unpublished photos obtained by UVonline.com reporter Darren Lake. The photo of the unidentified flying object—which apparently is a mystery unmanned aircraft nobody has ever heard off—was taken in Kandahar in 2007, but has been published now by a french magazine. [Air-Cosmos and UVonline via Flight Global]

Update: It's not a Phantom Ray. Look at the drawing. That UCAV prototype has been approved no for ten new flight, but it was in storage before that. This is a new plane.

[mnehring]

[mnehring]

There is also the x47-b

[Kenny Bunk]

Joe, this is old news. It was on the History Channel. NAZI Wonder Weapons of 1991. Some of them old NAZI bastards just won't give up

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Newspapers in Mexico City still report sightings of old Nazis...

[Marie Antoinette]

Ping. :)

[mnehring]

Newspapers in Mexico City still report sightings of old Nazis....

Shoot, almost every newspaper has a continual run of old Nazi sightings.

[JoeProBono]

[Lx]

How many people here know we lost a B2 in February of 2008?
A 2.2 Billion dollar accident due to moisture in the computer.

[fishtank]

Nice “wife-beater”, John...!!!!!!!! ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Thane_Banquo]

Unlikely. The aircraft in the picture only has one set of rear wheels per strut. The stealth has two.

[mnehring]

That’s why I also put the x47-b in the list.. that seems more likely, especially with the amount of unmanned aircraft we are using now.

[Thane_Banquo]

Bingo. We have a winner. My personal belief is that the military likely does not like to tell the public about an experimental aircraft until long after it has already been deployed and is in use.

[Thane_Banquo]

Oh, right.

[mnehring]

Considering they have ‘officially’ released the x47-b, I bet we’ve been flying it for at least five years. :->

[Thane_Banquo]

I believe I heard that the B2 is being phased out precisely because of what you pointed out: It is finnicky, difficult to maintain, and when one goes down it’s the equivalent of the loss of GDP of a small country.

[Thane_Banquo]

It is a nice looking aircraft. Kinda looks like the B2 gave birth to an adorable little puppy.

[Moonman62]

and when one goes down it’s the equivalent of the loss of GDP of a small country

If we don't fly them, then we lose everything invested in them, which is a lot more.

[edzo4]

the boeing x 45 unmanned bomber was successfully tested in 05

June 25, 2005 The Boeing X-45A unmanned aircraft continues to impress in trials as it showcases its ability to adapt to a realistic and changing wartime operational environment. During a recent test flight, its 52nd to date, an X-45A departed from NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, climbed to 29,000 ft. and entered the base’s test range. While flying the mission, several simulated Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) emitters were activated and the unmanned aircraft autonomously created its own flight plan to remain out of lethal range of the simulated SAM sites. Always managed by the pilot-operator, the X-45A then attacked its simulated priority ground target and showcased the ability to suppress enemy air defenses. Once the aircraft had conducted a simulated battle damage assessment, the X-45A safely returned to Edwards.

[Seruzawa]

Not so secret any more.