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Northrop’s Stealthy Drone Breaks Cover… And It Has A Cockpit!?
The War Zone ^ | August 9, 2024 | Tyler Rogoway

Posted on 08/09/2024 6:45:48 AM PDT by Red Badger

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1 posted on 08/09/2024 6:45:48 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: 04-Bravo; 1FASTGLOCK45; 1stFreedom; 2ndDivisionVet; 2sheds; 60Gunner; 6AL-4V; A.A. Cunningham; ...

AVIATION PING!........................


2 posted on 08/09/2024 6:46:24 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

3 posted on 08/09/2024 6:57:43 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: Red Badger

I want one!


4 posted on 08/09/2024 7:00:06 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
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To: Red Badger

Optionally manned, with a cockpit ... I always thought that the pilot, and all the systems required to keep him alive, had become the key limiting design factor. The weight and space savings of eliminating all that is a huge gain for UAVs.

At least we know that Tom Cruise is good to go with the next installments to Top Gun. He must be celebrating.


5 posted on 08/09/2024 7:00:53 AM PDT by sphinx
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To: Red Badger

I would think a drone would often best be a flying machine as small as can carry a lethal weapon.

small, cheap, plentiful, lethal


6 posted on 08/09/2024 7:00:54 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: Red Badger

“it has a cockpit”

Perhaps the development of cyborgs is further advanced than we know. 🤔

Working around Naval aviation for so long I’ve thought for a while that the aircraft performance is at the brink of what a human pilot can tolerate and one day all fighter jets will be flown remotely.

Also, a little of topic but why advertise your weaponry? 🤷

When it comes to our military weapons do we really need to know?


7 posted on 08/09/2024 7:01:19 AM PDT by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!)
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To: sphinx

Agree, see my post 7


8 posted on 08/09/2024 7:03:27 AM PDT by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!)
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To: Red Badger

Verrryy intelesting


9 posted on 08/09/2024 7:03:53 AM PDT by Laslo Fripp (Does anybody proofread anymore?)
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To: sphinx

My guess is that this can be both a drone and a prototype for a new fighter..............


10 posted on 08/09/2024 7:09:24 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

The cockpit is for the corps of genetically modified chimpanzees the DOD is developing.


11 posted on 08/09/2024 7:11:01 AM PDT by I-ambush (From the brightest star comes the blackest hole. You had so much to offer, why didya offer your sou?)
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To: Red Badger

Why are we still celebrating the military industrial complex pukes and their DEI stunts (notice the women aircraft workers intentionally highlighted)?


12 posted on 08/09/2024 7:21:56 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: Red Badger

I have the answer.

Brake rider.

Yep.

The USAF has always had a rule that aircraft cannot be towed anywhere without someone in the cockpit ready to stomp on the brakes in case the tow bar got disconnected for some reason. The “Brake Rider”.

I guess the safety goons in the Air Force were unwilling to compromise.


13 posted on 08/09/2024 7:28:00 AM PDT by Jotmo (Whoever said, "The pen is mightier than the sword." has clearly never been stabbed to death.)
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To: Red Badger

The German V1’s were fitted with a cockpit so that they could be flight tested. After they’d perfected the design for flight the cockpit was deleted and replaced with a bomb.


14 posted on 08/09/2024 7:35:34 AM PDT by Gen.Blather (Wait! I said that out loud? )
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To: Red Badger

The early prototypes of the V-1 flying bomb, Fieseler Fi 103 [Flakzielgerät 76 (FZG-76)] had a cockpit. Famed German aviatrix Hanna Reitsch did several test flights in a piloted version of it. That version never went into production.


15 posted on 08/09/2024 7:37:58 AM PDT by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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To: Gen.Blather

I bet there weren’t many V1 test pilots left after the war.................


16 posted on 08/09/2024 7:38:39 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Where else are you going to put the inflatable pilot.


17 posted on 08/09/2024 7:47:14 AM PDT by Track9 (If you want to know about human nature, read a power tool user manual. )
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To: Red Badger

Looks like a Bonanza on steroids


18 posted on 08/09/2024 7:49:23 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: Red Badger
My theory: When the F-35 was being developed from the X-35, the airframe and powerplant were relatively easy, but the integrated software and processors required for the novel sensor fusion to drive the Helmet Mounted Cueing System (HMCS) that replaced the Heads Up Display (HUD) on the cockpit dash was harder to develop than anticipated. This delayed the F-35 by almost 10 years. Software is a continuing issue for the F-35.

If this aircraft is supposed to be a fully autonomous flying vehicle that can perform meaningful combat missions, then the software to do so will be years (maybe decades) away from being ready, so putting a pilot and controls in the test airframe will allow development of the aircraft and powerplant without having to wait for software. (That may never arrive...)

19 posted on 08/09/2024 7:49:47 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: GreyFriar

I bet there weren’t many V1 test pilots left after the war.................


20 posted on 08/09/2024 7:51:14 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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