Gotta See This - Supersecret Bird of Prey [with video]

Popular Science, Boeing ^ | 10/18/02

[syriacus]

Beautiful!!

[Light Speed]

Its good to see the computer technology catching up to the design theories.
The next breakthru is computer controlled stall landing....like 2 magnets coming together...the aircraft will aproach and enter near stall....putting down in remarkably short distances.
The new designs with internal weapons bays will require one more shift...that being microed weapons,as limited space requires boosting energy yeilds for the few weapons to be carried.
The application of controlled atomics is on its way....military is working on a way to present this in view of the psychological factor.
Once they can prove that the radiation will dissapate and not remain to create lasting consequences...the shift away from TNT will have arrived.
We are fortunate that our [Geeks and Nerds]are the top shelf of the planet!

Switchblade..another concept that may appear soon

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Don't you mean wessal?

LOL!

Can you tell me where to find the nuclear wessals??

[al baby]

looks like the one steve austin flew before he became the 6 million dollar man

[FlyVet]

The next breakthru is computer controlled stall landing....

I get the gist, but most of it zooomed over my head...hopefully this kind of technology can make the deathtrap V-22 obsolete.

[LibKill]

Looks like something right out of 'Babylon 5'.

But, where are the guns? A plane without guns is like an eagle without talons.

[kayak]

Thought you might enjoy seeing this ...... :-)

[Teacher317]

My thoughts exactly. Do they give the actual payload anywhere?

[SuziQ]

For Honesty, they showed a picture of George W. I was shocked.

I guess there's hope for them, yet!

[archy]

Where are the weapons?

The weapon sits in the pilot's seat.

-archy-/-

[avg_freeper]

This aircraft is one of many "tail-less" designs that tries to minimize the vertical surfaces. But somewhere, somehow in the implementation/test phase some kind of fin is always added to the final design.

If you look at the first picture it looks like they've added a strake right under engine exhaust.

I know that in small biz-jet work that the sudden addition of a strake like device there generally entails the discovery in test of poor low speed, high AoA, landing performance.

Additionally, the engine intake over and behind the cockpit is traditionally seen to be poorly suited to high AoA performance. Flow separation from the cockpit/forward fuselage blankets the intake during high AoA maneuvers and can choke the engine. Perhaps the unique sharp edge design induces beneficial leading edge vortices that keep the flow attached.

I wonder how the phantom-works X-36 work is going.

[archy]

But it does not look big enough to mount any thing to shoot with.

Neither did this one. [HE-178] But it's airborne offspring changed the way things were done in the fighter pilot's line of work.

[Graewoulf]

Ping!

[archy]

Timeline: from humble beginnings:

From the first jet flight of the Heinkel 178 testplane on 27 August 1939 to the first flight of an operational Messerschmit Me-262 jet fighter, 14 July 1942...thence to the MiG 15, F-80 and F-86 fighters going about their business in the Korean War.

[John_11_25]

Looks like they are only now begining to understand the technology of the Roswell Crash Site.

[swarthyguy]

That's what i was thinking. Col. Philip Corso Lives!

[El Sordo]

Didja know that the F-117 program began in 1975?

Project Have Blue.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Interesting mockup, but what's inside ?

Right now? Probably air.

[Gunrunner2]

Technology demonstrator.

Other stuff in the works.