Interesting Times at Mojave 3-15-17

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Ya Know, I said it earlier, but I would love it to be a variant of the YF-23.


tacairnet.com...

a reply to: MAVERICKANDGOOSE

Only if it's Navy and not an internal thing. If this is some kind of one off testbed being used to develop other technology, there's a better chance of it being out prior to a flight. Especially if it's using an existing airframe that's been modified to house something new. Since it's only going to be used for one program, there's less need to keep it totally dark.

Look at the Polecat. It was a one off and Lockheed was relatively open about it. It wouldn't be the first time a one off has been less than black, if that's what this is. Northrop builds almost 3/4s of the Hornet in California. I'm sure they could build one that was modified pretty easily.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Wouldn't that be something...

a reply to: Barnalby

Based on the way they did the B-21, they'd be smart to begin working on possible future programs now and get a good solid start on them. There are a lot of programs coming up.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Oh there are, for sure. It's going to be an interesting decade or so.

a reply to: Barnalby

Having the RCO/SCO running several of these, and seeing how few problems they had, compared to traditional programs, is going to rewrite the book. Even with the problems the B-21 had and does have they're already far ahead of almost any other program in history at this point.

a reply to: Zaphod58

It's pretty clear from what we've seen of the development timelines of even some of the crazier black projects out there (the Green Lady, the RQ-180, and similar) that so long as you have the RCO/SCO/Big Safari/the contractors running these projects, free of constant ambivalent tweaking by the Pentagon, that you can still have development/rollout timelines that aren't all that different from the "New fighters and bombers every 5 years" pace of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Hopefully, this is the shape of things to come. The blistering pace of China's copycat programs means that we're no longer going to be able to get away with programs that take 15+ years from inception to IOC.

a reply to: Zaphod58

A perfect example of this is the Stealthified Hornet wrapped up in AZ. Not a deep black project but something they were playing with to get basic shape and to see how far they could push the Hornet design. And something they didn't come out and advertise while they were playing with it either. It's not a far stretch to think they could be doing the same thing to test systems and other aspects of future aircraft and not yell to the world "Hey, I have built this, come see it".

originally posted by: Sammamishman
a reply to: Zaphod58

A perfect example of this is the Stealthified Hornet wrapped up in AZ. Not a deep black project but something they were playing with to get basic shape and to see how far they could push the Hornet design. And something they didn't come out and advertise while they were playing with it either. It's not a far stretch to think they could be doing the same thing to test systems and other aspects of future aircraft and not yell to the world "Hey, I have built this, come see it".

Valid argument. It's plausible that this could be a one off demonstrator or an updated super super Hornet but I just don't see it in the photos. I can believe they've built and are currently flying what you guys are referring to, I just don't think this is it.

a reply to: MAVERICKANDGOOSE

It may be nothing but odd angles, but I've gotten definite indications something with at least a similar fuselage is flying out of Mojave. No one will say much though beyond that.

The plane on the left realy look like a F-22 Raptor.

a reply to: darksidius

That would be the coatings, I'd assume. The elevators are also very F-22 looking. Zaph might know more about the details, but it seems like it'd be fairly accurate to call it a "Rhino in 5/6th-gen's clothing".

But yeah, the whole "military aircraft flying out of Mojave" angle and relaxed security would make a hell of a lot more sense if it wasn't a contracted black project but instead was a private venture of some sort built by Northrop to test upgrades, avionics, and other technologies.

Any idea of what this plane could be ? Do you think it could be a new fighter demonstrator ? If it is something new its very strange to see it in Mojave airport in daytime .

a reply to: darksidius

Its butt looks more f23ish to me. Not saying it is. But it looks to have design similarities.

Hey zaph. In your opinion would a f23varient look pretty sweet on the deck of a carrier? I think it would.

For sure a Navy style F-23 would be a beautiful plane for the futur Ford Class carrier

New or the one that had an incident at Boscombe Downs ?

a reply to: Blackfinger

I would assume new Blackfinger.

Interesting pics. I think if the one on the left was a Hornet it would look more like the Hornet on the right i.e. it's not a Hornet that just looks a little strange due to the distance and lack of detail. It looks larger and seems to have a different profile. If it's not a F-22 then for sure it could be something interesting!

a reply to: Blackfinger

Currently the going theory is leaning toward a one off frankenhornet demenstrator for 6th gen systems. Not a deep black project but not an advertised one either.

Oh now heres a thought.

What if the mystery aircraft was actually an LM product, say something like a modern interpretation of the F-16XL? That gold tinted canopy looked to me a bit like a D model Vipers and the cleaned up image that nelloh62 put up looked like it had a centreline belly mounted intake to me. Its possible the aft end shot was showing trailing edge devices with some odd angles/shadows so it looked a bit different. Couple this with the announcement that (curiously) LM are moving the entire F-16 line to Sth Carolina and it could be a possibility.