Posted on 05/05/2011 7:21:08 AM PDT by La Lydia
(WASHINGTON) -- Before an elite team of U.S. Navy SEALs executed a daring raid that took down Osama bin Laden, the commandos were able to silently sneak up on their elusive target thanks to what aviation analysts said were top secret, never-before-seen stealth-modified helicopters. In the course of the operation that cost the al Qaeda leader his life, one of the two Black Hawk helicopters that carried the SEALs into bin Laden's Pakistani compound grazed one of the compound's walls and was forced to make a hard landing. With the chopper inoperable, at the end of the mission the SEALs destroyed it with explosives.
But photos of what survived the explosion -- the tail section of the craft with curious modifications -- has sent military analysts buzzing about a stealth helicopter program that was only rumored to exist. From a modified tail boom to a noise-reducing covering on the rear rotors and a special high-tech material similar to that used in stealth fighters, former Department of Defense official and vice president of the Lexington Institute Dan Goure said the bird is like nothing he's ever seen before.
"This is a first," he said. "You wouldn't know that it was coming right at you. And that's what's important, because these are coming in fast and low, and if they aren't sounding like they're coming right at you, you might not even react until it's too late...That was clearly part of the success."
In addition to the noise-reducing modifications, a former special operations aviator told The Army Times that the general shape of what was left of the craft -- the harsh angles and flat surfaces more common to stealth jets -- was further evidence it was a modified variant of the Black Hawk.
A senior Pentagon official told ABC News the Defense Department would "absolutely not" comment on anything relating to the destroyed bird.
Neighbors of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, told ABC News they didn't hear the helicopters the night of the Sunday raid until they were directly overhead. The rotor covering, along with a special rotor design, suppressed the choppers' noise while inbound, Bill Sweetman, editor-in-chief of Defense Technology International, said.
"Helicopters make a very distinctive percussive rotor sound which is caused by their rotor blades and if you can blend that down, of course that makes a noise that is much less likely to be heard and much more likely to blend into any background noise that there is," Sweetman said.
The U.S. has attempted to use stealth helicopters before. In the mid-90s, the Army developed several prototypes of the Comanche helicopter, a reconnaissance helicopter that was at the time a revolutionary step in stealth technology. But in 2004 the Department of Defense scrapped the program and promised to used technology developed for the Comanche on other crafts.
Since then, the government has been working to silence the Army's Black Hawk helicopters but an official program for the stealth choppers was never publicized. The wreckage, Sweetman said, is the first the public has ever seen of an operational stealth-modified helicopter....
And I was called crazy...
Did U.S. forces use secret stealth helicopters in bin Laden raid?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2715118/posts
This makes sense. A Helicopter can be very quick and nimble, has a great turning radius, vertical take off and landing, able to hoover...
But, not typically my first choice of vehicle in a night-time sneak-in, grab and run sort of engagement. You can hear them coming from miles away.
It would be like making a sneak attack with an Aerosmith concert.
Until one actually sees one how can we be sure? {:- /
If indeed this is a secret stealth heli, under which administratin was it built...
Easy. The one positive sign of a stealthy black helicopter is the trail of mutilated cattle behind it. . . (grin)
This morning, Fox News shows pics of helicopter tail, dicsussion of implications of losing it to the Chicoms.
CNN is having discussions on what actors will play what roles in the Osama movie.
Sounds like that TV show Airwolf from the 80’s :)
What I wonder though, is why that Pakistani on twitter was complaining about the noise of helicopters while it was happening, if these were so stealthy?
How many times do I have to read this article or the 1,456,876 ones like it?
And we’ve had black copters for decades. I’ve seen one up close and personal. Only markings are very hard to see even in the day time.
I was on the team that built-up the first “black/stealth” helicopter (and there is no “whisper mode”!) using a helicopter from the U.S. Army inventory. It was a 1st Gulf war effort. Nearly 20 years ago now. Seems like the only people who didn’t know about this “tool” in our Armed Forces was the American media.
While China actually borders Afghanistan, you never hear anything out of them. Here's why.
1. Military shipments going through Pakistan are routinely stolen. Lots of sensitive things go missing, but we don't want to upset 'our friends' the Pakistanis by fussing too much over it.
2. American internet service in Afghanistan runs directly through China.
3. American operations routinely take place where the Chinese can observe them, one way or another.
This is just another example. These helicopter parts will wind up in Chinese hands, even though Pakistan is 'our ally'. Bank on it.
who are you going to believe me are your own lying ears????? That should cover it!
So sorry that my post offended you. I apologize. I would take it down if I could. Please forgive me.
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