LRS-B Will be Much more that Just a Bomber

General Question - Strange Sighting. North - Central Mo

Date: 9-14-15 Time: 7p-8:30p

Flying East to West...


After spending a long day visiting a family member in the hospital, I was returning home. I noticed what appeared to be a large, bright, contrail... or an extremely bright star with a large field around it.. which was slightly oblong, and extremely thick .. I also considered this could be a semi-solid white/thick (almost plasma-like field).

Originally I thought this some extremely bright star or planet. With the light passing through a light cloud bank. It was getting near sundown (I guess approximately an hour or so from official "sundown time"). After considering this I noticed there was no other clouds in the sky, I could see no other stars, and planets yet out.. only blue sky. I could see no cloud strands between the "thing" and me. This was also not in the standard location which I normally see the first bright star this time of year (really a planet I believe), though i was driving from a different location.

This object was much brighter than this standard star. Much more of a "halo", but an extremely thick one.... I then noticed it started to move, and more importantly get smaller... then smaller yet.

It appeared to be a "fast" jet liner moving away from me, and this could be an extremely large/thick/contrail? The only problem being this contrail was new... tight... packed... and only what appeared to be 100-150' long (short, 1/8" , 1/16", gone). And then contrail was remaining "thick" and "bright" until it was disappearing, but it was disappearing as quickly as the aircraft was moving.

This was also near enough to me I should have seen the airplane (granted I would guess this to be a 30'k - 50k ft height.

This is only a guess based on my history in flight (flying lessons in cessna 150 / solo ride 13-16), now fly co-pilot twice a month in a King Air 350 (due to open seat, not due to any personal talent). With a love in aviation, military, black projects, etc I compare heights with other aircraft, and their contrails... anything which I don't normally see.

I could see no aircraft, nothing other than this "contrail /field". Do we know of anything flying that would create a "roundish" white/grey/bright(almost pail-yellow) field around an aircraft? Or anything that would make a large, thick, but extremely short/fast disappearing contrail?... one where I couldn't see an aircraft?

I've seen several B-2s in this area... but never one that I couldn't see.. Was moving slightly faster than a normal aircraft, but not absurdly so.

Any ideas? No pics.. was driving down the highway, and the whole thing only lasted 90sec?

~Winter~

a reply to: LeslieD

What gfad said.

Chill out mate.

a reply to: LeslieD

What gfad said.

Chill out mate.

.....no, not a double post.

originally posted by: BlackDog10
a reply to: LeslieD

Probably B-1s with the 28th bomb squadron

Nope - no mistaking the profile of the Valkyrie. The front end looks like a snake rising up from the body - it sits up above the fuselage. They don't look remotely alike.

go to 41:58 and note the NASA logo on the plane...

a reply to: LeslieD

NASA used it for testing for the NSBP. AV-2 was modified with sensors and flew one flight, two days before the midair collision that resulted in its destruction.

AV-1 was also used by NASA for that program as well as testing a stability augmentation system and controllability at high speeds. All that was part of the US attempt at a Concorde style transport.

a reply to: Winterpain

That sounds an awful lot like a project that Zaph has acknowledged, and if I remember correctly, it's a different one from the infamous "Green Lady"

a reply to: Barnalby

It also reads like it could be a rocket launch. Matches the 'contrail', and the halo and the brightness. 90 sec is about right.

a reply to: mbkennel

In Missouri? What rocket launch facility is anywhere near there that launches East to West?

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: BigTrain

I can't give out the numbers but the RCS of the bomber is unprecedented. It's low enough that experienced people stopped dead when they heard what it is. It makes the B-2 look like a B-1 on radar.

Wow! This is exciting. Just like my other replies on other threads...."I wonder what black projects are out there?". If what you say is true about the radar cross section, then this incredible.
We live in amazing times.

a reply to: LeslieD

I think you are mistaken. Maybe one or two, ok I could maybe believe that. A fleet? Don't think so. How would you even hide a fleet of (X)B-70s?

www.dailymail.co.uk...

well duh....

Prototypes of new long range stealth bombers may already have been built and tested after it was revealed that spending on the project has jumped to $1bn in 2015.

The U.S. Air Force is moving forward with plans for a top-secret next generation bomber that could one day fly without a pilot.

Now it has emerged that spending on the project has topped a billion dollars this year alone - and companies vying to win a contract to build the bombers are already said to have built either full-scale or miniature prototypes and tested them in wind tunnels.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk... Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

a reply to: grey580

From the US to England and back (IIRC) is one hell of a wind tunnel.

They wouldn't be as far along in the design process, as they stated earlier this summer they are, if they hadn't at least tested a full scale flying prototype.

a reply to: Sammamishman

Well there were winds involved.

a reply to: Zaphod58

i wish real life worked like that, i know it would have proven useful in a few situations.....

a reply to: Zaphod58

I wonder if the wind was a jet stream......

In anticipation of LRSB's certification for nuclear weapons in the mid 2020's and to still comply with the START treaty, the Air Force is de-certifying 30 B-52H's for carrying nuclear weapons.

As US Air Force Global Strike Command anticipates the introduction of the nuclear-capable Long-Range Strike Bomber in the mid-2020s, the command is de-arming its air-launched cruise missile-carrying Boeing B-52 bombers to comply with New START treaty limits with Russia.

www.flightglobal.com...

It's interesting that according to the article they are also planning on pulling 12 B-52's out of mothball.

a reply to: Sammamishman

If they're not nuclear capable they can have more of them. That was the only limiting factor was them being nuclear capable.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Is it conceivable to only cert. a portion of the fleet for nukes as they retire older nuke capable B-52's?

a reply to: Sammamishman

Yeah. It's been done before. The B-52 fleet for years was partially nuclear capable.

a reply to: Zaphod58

How long would it take to "re-certify" them in the event of WWIII? I.e. is it similar to my friends in Canada who have 5 round riveted mags for their ARs and if SHTF they can just pop out the rivets? Or is it a significant overhaul of systems?