So, if I’m understanding your theory correctly, Northrup Grumman - or some other military contractor - was testing its highly secretive drone technology in well-traveled commercial and recreational navigation channels. This drone tech is a fixed-wing system that is capable of operating 100-miles from shore, loitering over a target for close to two-hours and moving at speeds at 15-knts (or less). And, they’re going to do all this ‘testing’ in the presence of one of the most advanced warships on the water today so that the highly secretive advanced drone can be photographed with infrared, latest generation NVGs and optical cameras with most of the footage that was produced can then can FOIAed for public release?
Is that about the sum of it?
Why in the world would any defense contractor want to announce to the world these kinds of revolutionary aeronautical advancements in remotely-piloted platforms?
We have UAVs that can move quickly. We have UAVs that can operate at very high altitudes. We have UAVs that can loiter on station for an hour or so (if launched nearby) and at very low altitudes. We have UAVs that can hover or move at very slow speeds.
We don’t have UAVs that - in the same package - can do all the above and more. Such technology would be one of the greatest - perhaps the greatest - advancements in aircraft propulsion and aerodynamics since the Wright Brothers.
In fact you kicked him out. And now that he's gone you are going to go into town and go to Bloomingdales and find yourself some nice dresses, get yourself some shoes, you know, find somewhere and get a facial. And uh, oh hire a decorator to come in her quick because uh, Damn!
Initial testing would be done well away from prying eyes. Testing at the edges of the performance envelope would be done well away from prying eyes. But eventually it is going to have to work with normal fleet units - that's why the Navy is buying the thing. That means nominal testing with regular units. Still considered sensitive enough they don't want to publish a schedule and give adversaries a chance to put intelligence assets in place to monitor the tests. Nor do they want to publish every little detail of the test parameters so the test itself isn't even acknowledged. That's why the squid with the NVGs doesn't know what he's looking at. But even though you want to keep it quiet, it still has to happen with Navy units - so they're going to see something.