Musings about the F-117 companion

a reply to: grey580
One of the few childhood treasures I have is a small scale toy of that airframe from Micro Machines. It was a 3 pack that came with a SR-71, the "Aurora" and the "TR-3" Black Manta.

a reply to: drwire

Yeah it got me good as well, still such a beautiful aircraft though.

a reply to: grey580

Is THAP the f117 companion/callsign jabba?

a reply to: Bfirez

No. None of those callsigns are related to any classified aircraft.

a reply to: Zaphod58

So I feel like you answered halkf my question...

a reply to: Bfirez

THAP has nothing to do with it. Those callsigns are all unclassified and have nothing to do with it.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Damn. Well back down the rabbit hole.

originally posted by: Barnalby
So what did Northrop have at the time for F-117-sized designs?

Actually Northrops entry in the competition was different but Similar to Have Blue (Heck even had the inward canted tail) not lot of pictures exist except the one on the RCS pole.



Northrop XST

a reply to: FredT

I was always under the impression that the XST was more of a Carter or even a Ford-era design that established that stealth without ECHO-1 was possible, but not much more.

For comparison, I was talking about the early 80's when Senior Trend was finalized, a time at which the basic lessons of the XST had already led to Northrop's high and low-altitude penetrator designs from ~79-80 or so, which would merge and go on to evolve into the B-2.

Supposedly Tacit Blue built on the philosophy of the XST and tested the "clay-sculpted stealth" concept, but this is more about the idea that Tacit Blue wasn't the only Northrop stealth craft of it's size flying in the 80's.

Actually I,m about to cry as soon as i think i have it figured out a new post comes out and I realise I dont..

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: Zaphod58

That's it? You're one of our resident experts in this field. I would expect more from you...

Then you expect too much. Knowing something and being able to comment on it are two very different things.

a reply to: FredT

Ain't that one purty.

a reply to: FredT

Did the XST ever fly? Or was the competition just a pole-off with Have Blue?

a reply to: gfad

No, just the winner flew.

a reply to: StratosFear

If only that was a pic taken by a boomer :-)

originally posted by: Barnalby
So IF the companion wasn't a Lockheed product, that more or less means that it HAS to have been a Northrop design, if only because the General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas stealth designs were much more primitive at the time.

Are we sure about this? I have once read or heard somewhere that during development of the A-12 Avenger II by GD/McD somewhere around '89/'90, there were reports of flying triangle prototypes very similar to early A-12 designs. They were supposed to be build by General Dynamics in parallel but without knowledge of the A-12 team.
This lack of sharing of experiences regarding stealth construction and develpment by GD among themselves and by the U.S. Navy was one of the reasons the A-12 project got so out of control and the A-12 team was very angry about that.

Just speculating, but because the shape is so unique could the 'companion' be a design by a more obscure company that maybe was doing stealth at the fringes. Maybe it was a very late Rockwell design (based on stealth experience gained from the B1) or something out of LTV (Vought), or possibly Grumman alone?

But I do maintain that the possibily of something unique coming out of GD's hat while working on the A-12 could be plausible. could also explain why nothing of a similar shape has been build since. The basic shape must have worked great if it has been in operation undetected this long.

Ran across this.
Has some old papers from 91 talking about the companion craft.


space-man.de...

Pages 11 and 12

maybe more.

.

originally posted by: grey580
Ran across this.
Has some old papers from 91 talking about the companion craft.


space-man.de...

Pages 11 and 12

maybe more.

.

Interesting read. Seems the companion is sort of an open secret, at least in the military community.
I am just really surprised that in all those years, not more information has slipped out somehow. Expecially since it has served oversees.
TR-3, I guess we will never, ever get rid of that designation

a reply to: grey580

If I read that correctly they are supposing that the Boeing THAP design went on to become the infamous TR-3A?

a reply to: Bfirez

What TR-3A?