Declassified Black Project Aircraft

[viscousflow]

I recently came across an article detailing some old top secret aircraft which got declassified.

Here are a few of them and a short description of each from the article.

Lockheed Have Blue

From 1977 to 1979, the revolutionary Lockheed Have Blue tested a new form of low observable technology known as faceting. Rather than smooth aerodynamic lines, Have Blue adopted an angular, faceted shape to deflect electromagnetic waves and lower its radar signature. Aided by a fly-by-wire control system to rectify its aerodynamic instability, Have Blue paved the way for an aircraft that changed the face of modern warfare – the F-117A Nighthawk, known as the Stealth Fighter.

Read more: http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/201...nstrator-aircraft-declassified/#ixzz1NmoK0VIR

Northrop Tacit Blue

Arguably one of the strangest looking planes ever built, the Northrop Tacit Blue was a technology demonstrator designed to show that a stealth surveillance aircraft could operate deep behind enemy lines while feeding real-time targeting information to a ground command centre. Nicknamed “the whale”, Tacit Blue first flew in 1982 and retired in 1985 after logging 135 flights.

Read more: http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/201...nstrator-aircraft-declassified/#ixzz1Nmp6J76f

Boeing Bird of Prey

Like Have Blue and Tacit Blue before it, the Boeing Bird of Prey was a black project tested at the top secret Groom Lake facility. Developed by the McDonnell Douglas Phantom Works (which later became part of Boeing), only one Bird of Prey technology demonstrator was built, taking to the air in 1996. Named after a spaceship from Star Trek, the aircraft made 39 flights before the programme’s conclusion in 1999, helping develop technologies since used on Boeing’s X-45 and X-47 unmanned combat air vehicles.

Read more: http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/201...nstrator-aircraft-declassified/#ixzz1NmpJCKAA

The boeing bird of prey appears to be one of the most interesting one simply because of its aerodynamic shape allowing it to be extremely stable. I would imagine lateral stability to be horrible but I guess I'd have to see the numbers they crunched for that.

 

[Navin A S]

Overall, all three of these aircrafts are extremely impressive and it's really cool to see the progress of technology through time.