Kelly Johnson, Flying Saucers, Radar & Stealth

I recently came across this file:
www2.gwu.edu...
Lockheed's Kelly Johnson is reporting on stealth developments,and briefly discusses how the flying saucer shape is ideal for stealth. (Ben Rich later repeated these sentiments in his Skunk Works book.)

I think that's interesting for a number of reasons, but was struck at just what this meant about UFO disk radar reports. Just what would show up? Would the object only give a good return if flat to the signal? It makes me think that the lack of radar tracking of UFOs should not be considered such a serious thing, if their shape is near perfect for avoiding detection.

reply to post by CardDown


Anything flat, such as the B-2 and other flying wing designs, has an inherently stealthy signature. Radar reflects best on sharp angles. So unless you were directly over the radar antenna, you shouldn't see much of a return. Which is one reason I was surprised to read disks showing up on radar in some reports.

reply to post by CardDown


Ben Rich, former head of the Skunk Works after Johnson tells us at least twice in his book,Skunk Works that as they were testing what was to the be the SR-71, that before they did high speed, high altitude test runs across the US they would call NORAD and the necessary radar facilities to inform them when such exercises were taking place. He explained that was done so the airplane, flying at unconventional speed and altitude, would NOT be taken for a UFO on these various radar.

I should add, his revealing that necessary act indicates to me that UFOs are not always or totally stealthy. After all, as craft fashioned somewhere else, why should they be intentionally made stealthy to radar? Our use of radar is only about 60 years old.

Kelly Johnson had his own UFO sighting, when working on the U2.
He spotted a black triangular boomerang craft
he approximated to be 200 ft across holding perfectly still
off the coast of Santa Barbara at about 15,000 feet.
It then took off upwards at a 45 degree angle at speeds unobtainable by human aircraft.
He would know right?
Official explanation..Lenticular cloud.
Even Kelly Johnson wasn't immune to being blown off.


www.ufocasebook.com...

reply to post by sealing


Lockheed's employees seem to had a fair amount of involvement in flying saucers, some pretty wild from George Van Tassel to Orfeo Angelucci. But that's getting away from the point I was trying to make, which is about the stealthy radar defying nature of flying saucers.

It would be interesting to see just how the classic UFOs performed in radar tests designed for stealth. Based on guesswork alone, I'd say Kenneth Arnold's wings would perform very well.