Lockheed Martin RQ180 Confirmed

Just saw this...

June 19, 2014: The U.S. Air Force recently announced that the long rumored RQ-180 UAV did indeed exist and was still in development. The RQ-180 is a large (over 12 tons) and stealthy UAV designed to survive in heavily defended air space. The earlier RQ-170, which first saw service over Afghanistan and South Korea in 2010 is a similar, but smaller and earlier design. The U.S. Air Force had already admitted that the RQ-170 was a high altitude reconnaissance UAV developed in secret by Lockheed-Martin during the previous decade. It has a 12 meter (40 foot) wingspan. The RQ-170 is believed to be a replacement for some of the U-2s and a supplemental aircraft for the larger Global Hawk

More here: SOURCE

I'm currently trying to find just where the Air Force had reveled this?

Seems I'm a little behind on the news actually...

Speaking at an aerospace industry event in Virginia on June 9, Air Force surveillance chief Lt. Gen. Bob Otto said the RQ-180 would give the Pentagon “better access to contested airspace,” according to John Tirpak, a reporter for Air Force magazine who was at the event.

source


I thin the event itself was the Lockheed Martin Media Day 2014, held in Arlington VA on June 9.


Hidden in plane (pun intended) site perhaps? Lockheed Skunkworks Magic

a reply to: JJRichey

Fascinating video. Thanks for the reference.

Of course, I'm sure you know that anything that's like this as reported on youtube by Lockheed employees is something they probably came up with 10 to 15 years ago. The really secret stuff hasn't been revealed or discussed yet.

That VTOL UAV looks pretty sick

originally posted by: boomer135
That VTOL UAV looks pretty sick

Lockheed VARIOUS.


I'd swap it to manned, make it say carry 8 people, get Boeing to build it and use it as an air vehicle to insert US SOF into bastard hard as nails combat zones.

a reply to: Astr0

That's an interesting idea... kind of a smaller V22 if you will, the airborne version of an SDV(swimmer delivery vehicle).

*You know, that really made me think. Some kind of stealthy airship that wasn't too much bigger than a helicopter and with really quiet electric props might be able to do something like that, if you can achieve enough lift without the envelope being too large. Latex, so I"ve been told, doesn't reflect radar....if you had a latex envelope the largest RCS would be the SF guys hanging underneath, or the box carrying them (and that could be made stealthy as well).
Wouldn't be very fast though, and probably very impractical and prone to weather.

Disregard the rest of what I had here, lol.

originally posted by: JJRichey
a reply to: Astr0

That's an interesting idea... kind of a smaller V22 if you will, the airborne version of an SDV(swimmer delivery vehicle).

Disregard the rest of what I had here, lol.

An airborne SDV. I'd go with in ground effect vehicle for that role. Land on water drop the lads off and voila, like a ghost, gone again.

But for SOF, a smaller, stealthy troop VTOL capable carrier is sorely missing apparently.

a reply to: boomer135

Yeah I thought it was pretty slick looking as well, if they can make it work right. Seems like they could just launch something off a rail but then how'd you land? Could make a "flying boat" style UAV, land in the water for recovery. IMHO all that weight used for a VTOL system could be better used for more endurance(fuel) or more/better quality sensors. Or to just make it smaller.

But again, I"m no expert, so perhaps to someone it makes perfect sense (probably!)

Thanks for your replies guys!

the constant focus on stealh is kinda rideculous since the russian radar already nullify stealth advantages on the ground.. even the iranian to the US military's suprise mount a EW/HACK attack to their RQ170 and captured it intact lol

a reply to: milomilo

Stealth is so much better than you think. The new stealth aircraft coming out are so much better than the early stealth aircraft, and better than anything out there capable of detecting them. And Iran didn't "hack" the RQ-170, they spoofed the GPS on it and it crashed.

Am I missing something? I understood the RQ-180 to be from Northrop. Is that correct, or does it turn out it is a Lockheed product?

a reply to: TAGBOARD

All the companies work together anymore on just about anything. One is the primary contractor one the secondary. Not a lot is actually known about the -180 for certain though.

a reply to: Zaphod58
This is way off topic but while having my morning coffee on on my patio seven beautiful blue and gold F18's flew over in an extremely tight formation. They obviously made a low approach at the Greater Cincinnati Airport en-route to the Dayton airshow this weekend. They moved so effortlessly ...makes me want to start flying again.

a reply to: buddah6

Sounds like one broke enroute.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I was just watching the noon news and they were showing only six in formation. Maybe the other F 18's and Fat Albert went on to Dayton. The number 2 guy is a local so they may have been doing some low altitude PR.

a reply to: buddah6

They usually fly the 6, but when heading in to a show location they usually fly the full 8. The six show birds, the two seater the narrator flies, and a spare show bird.

Could this be what the Hangar at Groom Lake was built for?

a reply to: C0bzz

No, that was built for a different program.

sweet, another drone that will be hacked and downed by iranian and studied by russian and chinese goverment..

will the US ever stop and think that what would they feel if other nations secretly fly drones over US airspace ?

a reply to: milomilo

Except they didn't hack it and down it, they spoofed it and it crashed.

And the RQ-180 is as far ahead of the Sentinel as the SR-71 was ahead of the Wright Flyer.

a reply to: Zaphod58

the iranian hacked it or spoof it and fly the drone down safely . it didnt crash because it landed intact.

it is stupid for US goverment to think that other nations cannot counter it's weapon system / technology

and people who thought no one can beat stealth also taken in by the lies and propaganda of US goverment..

RQ180 will be just another piece of hardware to be targeted by the enemy as easy as pie.

US should stay out of other nation's airspace before something explosive came in form of ICBM to USA