Say Hello to the RQ-180

reply to post by Astr0


Init though?

Does anyone actually believe the TTR would allow a freelance photographer on the range? Then if you do believe that, do you think they would just ask the dude not to photograph that secret plane? And the minder didn't complain?

Let me relay a story I got from an ex-USAF photographer that later got a job for NASA at Edwards. He merely pointed a camera at a non-NASA aircraft just to use the freakin' telephoto lens to get a better look and security was all over him.

Further, the Tonopah Test Range is very easy to snoop on. You just drive and climb a hill, or there are spots where you can just drive. We are not talking about a TIkaboo type effort. You can put a grey project there, but I think the black project days for Tonopah are long gone. For one thing, you need to insure the DOE guys don't blab. Thus far, none ever did, but it isn't like they are in the USAF, and the DOE gets its share of visitors. [What secret stuff the TTR has was at their Area 10.] Now to be fair, nobody ever got a photo of the RQ-170 at the TTR, even after it was announced that they stood up the squadron.

This is a video done by KQED showing how easy it is to go onto Brainwash Butte even with snow on the ground.
Brainwash Butte

BTW, has anyone noticed how much nonsense (OK, extraneous content) Aviation Week put into this article just to pad it out? Obviously they don't know much specific data.

Note that while they mentioned the earthen berm, they didn't mention that it doesn't block the view of the hangar. Nor did they mention the Beechcraft shown on one of the Google Earth images, which make it less likely that Lockheed was the contractor at the hangar and more like it was Northrop, which has a B-190 shuttle.

So reviewing what the ATS hive thought was at the new hangar, when the dust settled, is a Northrop plane of some sort. And what has Aviation Week really told us? Well they think there is a NG plane in that hangar. They gave it a designation, which could be real. But they also published a story that reads kind of funny. For instance, if the RQ-4 is too expensive to fly, how does building a totally new airframe reduce the price? They still have twenty or so that are mothballed.

gariac
Does anyone actually believe the TTR would allow a freelance photographer on the range? Then if you do believe that, do you think they would just ask the dude not to photograph that secret plane? And the minder didn't complain?

Considering that there is a Tonopah Test Range Camera Use and Briefing paper that has all kinds of rules spelled out on it, including "You will photograph what we let you", then yes, I do believe there was a photographer there. Obviously they have let photographers in in the past, or they wouldn't have this form to fill out.

you asked what crashed in the NM desert, and you have received. i told zaph about the crash before any of the news media ran a story about it. I even dropped"super" hints in that thread. But the real and probably more amazing question is, what was it doing when it crashed?

And question 2. Does it seem likely that NG dropped this on the public in the wake of the SR-72 story from LM because perhaps they have similar designs in the lrs-b project? I believe LM even announced that they launched a UAV from a sub today. See a little battle brewing?

reply to post by boomer135


Ooo! Ooo! I know! I know!

Next year is going to get really interesting from what I hear.

Zaphod58

gariac
Does anyone actually believe the TTR would allow a freelance photographer on the range? Then if you do believe that, do you think they would just ask the dude not to photograph that secret plane? And the minder didn't complain?

Considering that there is a Tonopah Test Range Camera Use and Briefing paper that has all kinds of rules spelled out on it, including "You will photograph what we let you", then yes, I do believe there was a photographer there. Obviously they have let photographers in in the past, or they wouldn't have this form to fill out.

Since I have put those documents on the website way before there was an official TTR website, I am very familiar with them. I have all those documents on my website. Note this one:
[www.lazygranch.com...]escort takes the photo[/url]

Further, on one visit to the area, I met a guy doing bird spotting for the University of Nevada. [As a bit of irony, he was an electrician that wired the F117 barns.] He couldn't have a camera. He could have a spotting scope and the minder watched where he pointed it.

Still think any yahoo can get on base with a camera? KLAS and myself both applied for media passes when the final four F117s were returning to Tonopah. I figured my chances were zero, but I though KLAS might be allowed on base. Nope. No media was allowed on base. Based on scanner activity, there was a USAF photographer on base, though I never saw a photo released. We all watched from Mt. Diablo instead.

reply to post by gariac


Considering we don't know who this "yahoo" was, or what he was doing there, you can't say that there's no way they would have let him on the base. He may have been asked to be there by the Air Force to do a story, or he may have been able to arrange something. Just because you couldn't doesn't mean that no media people have ever been able to arrange it.

reply to post by boomer135


Do you think the companies would get much say in whether their aircraft get declassified or not?

Or would it be all up to the Air Force?

Cheers

reply to post by Stealthbomber


Oh it's purely up the the Air Force. The company can recommend that they do it, but once they're built and delivered it's up to the customer what happens.

reply to post by boomer135


Oh, there are so many plots getting so think around here.....like, OMG.

reply to post by Sammamishman


Oh you just don't KNOW. There's so much that we're leaving out that would blow your mind.

reply to post by Zaphod58


There you go again Zaph......kill'n me here......light'n the fuse attached to my mind, wait'n for it to blow, so how do I get "in the know", you know?

reply to post by Sammamishman


You meet the right people, and very slowly earn their trust and respect. It usually takes quite awhile, and a lot of luck.

And yeah, that last post was pretty much just to watch your head explode.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Thanks for that

So what about say if Boeing was working on a Black Project, and they found a way to make any engine 80% more fuel efficient, they couldn't use this technology on a 787 even though it would boost their profits a lot more than the black project would?

reply to post by Stealthbomber


They usually work out a deal where they can use some of the technologies involved for other uses. They wouldn't be able to use the full engine, but they could use say a composite combustion chamber they developed for it.

reply to post by gariac

Is it can be possible that the plane in the new Groom hangar is a big project that the three company are working on it together?
There is great chance that Boeing, Lockheed and Northrop have the same similary projects and finaly works together, in the futur projects instead of competing.

Zaphod58
reply to post by gariac

 

Considering we don't know who this "yahoo" was, or what he was doing there, you can't say that there's no way they would have let him on the base. He may have been asked to be there by the Air Force to do a story, or he may have been able to arrange something. Just because you couldn't doesn't mean that no media people have ever been able to arrange it.

Or everyone obeys orders. That is my best guess.

If you assume there is an exception to everything, then everything is possible. But following the most likely path will get you where you need to go. Otherwise, you start believing in remote viewing, ghosts, teleportation, and all sorts of nonsense.

reply to post by TAGBOARD

Though RQ-180 is far too large for an aircraft carrier, it may have the same air-to-air refueling capabilities as the X-47B, allowing it to stay in the air virtually indefinitely.

There's no point of reference as to how big it really is.

Notice how the finish of the hull seems to blend in to its surroundings?

Does it have a conventional propulsion system?

It could also be capable of electronic attack missions.

communication disruption and emp? This makes me wonder if it uses microwave sheathing too despite its aerodynamic contour...nice

Its got a boomerang shape too.

reply to post by reject


Don't put too much into the pictures. The descriptions I've heard don't match to the drawings released. As for size, it's fairly large from what I hear, but I don't have exact dimensions.

Zaphod58
reply to post by Sammamishman

 

You meet the right people, and very slowly earn their trust and respect. It usually takes quite awhile, and a lot of luck.

And yeah, that last post was pretty much just to watch your head explode.

edit on 12/6/2013 by Zaphod58 because: (no reason given)

oh come on now zaph you know your head exploded when i told you. lol with a text back something to the effects of "oh you gotta be #$%&ing me!"