Turbinator
New member
We have, over time seen quite a few interesting military planes that where created in complete secrecy, and eventually revealed. The last of them being the B2 Stealth bomber that was developed in the early 80s and first flew in 89.
However, that's in the 80's. Technology wise that's 3 centuries ago.
What about the planes created in the 90s and 2000s? Well here you go:
Boeing Bird of Prey
First Flight: 1996
Crew: 1 pilot
Known For: Active Camouflage in radar, infra-red, and visible light
Made public on October 18, 2002
Boeing X-45
First Flight: 2002
McDonnell Douglas X-36
First Flight 1997
Built: 2
no good quality pics of this one
X-41 Common Aero Vehicle
Still classified
Lockheed Martin RQ-3 DarkStar
First Flight: 1996
Aurora no official name
What would a thread like this be without the Aurora?
It is the replacement for the SR-71 Blackbird, and nothing about this plane is know for fact, other than it's existence.
In May 2006, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) released an extensive report on Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) in the UK air defence area. It was written by the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) in 2000 and was originally classified "SECRET UK eyes only". It is unusual, because it contains official comments on "black" programmes. One of the Working Papers is entitled "'BLACK' AND OTHER AIRCRAFT AS UAP EVENTS". It says, "it is acknowledged that some UAP sightings can be attributed to covert aircraft programmes". The report lists three "Western" programmes which might result in this — all of which appear to be American (right side image). The first — not surprisingly — is the SR-71. Programme 2 and Programme 3 are redacted from the report — even their names are withheld.
Two photos or representations have also been removed from the file before release. Adjacent sections freely talk about the F-117, B-2 and F-22, and show photos of these aircraft; so these programmes appear to be something different. Elsewhere in the report the DIS says, "The projected (USAF) priority plan is to produce unpiloted air-breathing aircraft with a Mach 8-12 capability and transatmospheric vehicles as well as highly supersonic vehicles at Mach 4 to 6". The Mach 8-12 aircraft may refer to what the USAF announced as the Falcon Project in 2003 but this is the first official mention of a USAF plan for an Aurora-like Mach 4-6 vehicle. Bill Sweetman (Sweetman, Bill. (1993) Aurora: The Pentagon's Secret Hypersonic Spyplane) says the report shows the MoD "identified two separate U.S. 'Black' programmes that might have operated from the U.K." This caught the attention of the BBC Two's Newsnight (June 14, 2006), who related the project to many other covert projects.
And of course this would not be complete without the so called Black Triangle sightings, they have increased dramatically since the 1990s. 1993, March 30: Multiple witnesses across south-west and west England saw a large black triangle at low speeds. Analysis of the sightings by Nick Pope concluded that the object moved in a north-easterly course from Cornwall to Shropshire over a period of approximately 6 hours. The sightings report clearly visible objects over densely populated areas and highways, mostly in the United States and Britain, but other parts of the world as well. A geographic distribution of U.S. sightings has been correlated by a currently inactive American-based investigative organization, the National Institute for Discovery Science, which led to a July 2002 report which suggested that the craft may belong to the U.S. Air Force; however, a subsequent report in August 2004 by the same organization (NIDS) found that the rash of sightings did not conform to previous deployment of black project aircraft and that the objects' origins and agendas were unknown. This in comparison to the F-117 Nighthawk and B-2 Spirit stealth aircraft, which were sighted only occasionally during testing over sparsely populated areas of the Southwest United States such as Groom Lake (Area 51), usually at night and by dedicated civilian observers of military aircraft.
Most black triangle reports indicate that the craft are at least 200 ft (60 m) long and similar to the dimensions of a typical football field in width. They typically appear silently and seemingly "out of nowhere", drifting a few hundred feet or less above the ground. Black triangles are usually described by witnesses as moving very slowly or hovering in one place for varying periods of time, sometimes even landing. The craft are also sometimes reported by witnesses to be capable of sudden, rapid acceleration.
The only real close up picture is this one by the Belgian Air Force from 1990:
I personally can not wait for the day these awesome machines are de-classified, as they seem to have a new mode of propulsion, or at least a new way of applying a an old method of propulsion. However, based solely on the kind of revolution in modern warfare that this kind of propulsion method would cause, I don't see this being de-classified any time soon within the next 50 years. Everything we know about warfare, would change drastically.
---------- Post added at 04:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 AM ----------
Honourable mention goes to the Russian Thermoplane:
However, that's in the 80's. Technology wise that's 3 centuries ago.
What about the planes created in the 90s and 2000s? Well here you go:
Boeing Bird of Prey
First Flight: 1996
Crew: 1 pilot
Known For: Active Camouflage in radar, infra-red, and visible light
Made public on October 18, 2002
Boeing X-45
First Flight: 2002
McDonnell Douglas X-36
First Flight 1997
Built: 2
no good quality pics of this one
X-41 Common Aero Vehicle
Still classified
Lockheed Martin RQ-3 DarkStar
First Flight: 1996
Aurora no official name
What would a thread like this be without the Aurora?
It is the replacement for the SR-71 Blackbird, and nothing about this plane is know for fact, other than it's existence.
In May 2006, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) released an extensive report on Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) in the UK air defence area. It was written by the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) in 2000 and was originally classified "SECRET UK eyes only". It is unusual, because it contains official comments on "black" programmes. One of the Working Papers is entitled "'BLACK' AND OTHER AIRCRAFT AS UAP EVENTS". It says, "it is acknowledged that some UAP sightings can be attributed to covert aircraft programmes". The report lists three "Western" programmes which might result in this — all of which appear to be American (right side image). The first — not surprisingly — is the SR-71. Programme 2 and Programme 3 are redacted from the report — even their names are withheld.
Two photos or representations have also been removed from the file before release. Adjacent sections freely talk about the F-117, B-2 and F-22, and show photos of these aircraft; so these programmes appear to be something different. Elsewhere in the report the DIS says, "The projected (USAF) priority plan is to produce unpiloted air-breathing aircraft with a Mach 8-12 capability and transatmospheric vehicles as well as highly supersonic vehicles at Mach 4 to 6". The Mach 8-12 aircraft may refer to what the USAF announced as the Falcon Project in 2003 but this is the first official mention of a USAF plan for an Aurora-like Mach 4-6 vehicle. Bill Sweetman (Sweetman, Bill. (1993) Aurora: The Pentagon's Secret Hypersonic Spyplane) says the report shows the MoD "identified two separate U.S. 'Black' programmes that might have operated from the U.K." This caught the attention of the BBC Two's Newsnight (June 14, 2006), who related the project to many other covert projects.
And of course this would not be complete without the so called Black Triangle sightings, they have increased dramatically since the 1990s. 1993, March 30: Multiple witnesses across south-west and west England saw a large black triangle at low speeds. Analysis of the sightings by Nick Pope concluded that the object moved in a north-easterly course from Cornwall to Shropshire over a period of approximately 6 hours. The sightings report clearly visible objects over densely populated areas and highways, mostly in the United States and Britain, but other parts of the world as well. A geographic distribution of U.S. sightings has been correlated by a currently inactive American-based investigative organization, the National Institute for Discovery Science, which led to a July 2002 report which suggested that the craft may belong to the U.S. Air Force; however, a subsequent report in August 2004 by the same organization (NIDS) found that the rash of sightings did not conform to previous deployment of black project aircraft and that the objects' origins and agendas were unknown. This in comparison to the F-117 Nighthawk and B-2 Spirit stealth aircraft, which were sighted only occasionally during testing over sparsely populated areas of the Southwest United States such as Groom Lake (Area 51), usually at night and by dedicated civilian observers of military aircraft.
Most black triangle reports indicate that the craft are at least 200 ft (60 m) long and similar to the dimensions of a typical football field in width. They typically appear silently and seemingly "out of nowhere", drifting a few hundred feet or less above the ground. Black triangles are usually described by witnesses as moving very slowly or hovering in one place for varying periods of time, sometimes even landing. The craft are also sometimes reported by witnesses to be capable of sudden, rapid acceleration.
The only real close up picture is this one by the Belgian Air Force from 1990:
I personally can not wait for the day these awesome machines are de-classified, as they seem to have a new mode of propulsion, or at least a new way of applying a an old method of propulsion. However, based solely on the kind of revolution in modern warfare that this kind of propulsion method would cause, I don't see this being de-classified any time soon within the next 50 years. Everything we know about warfare, would change drastically.
---------- Post added at 04:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 AM ----------
Honourable mention goes to the Russian Thermoplane:
