Worlds most kick-@$$ aircraft!

[hamin_aus]

Looks stealthy enough to me for from front-on...

[Anakha56]

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/01/24 ... lashdot%29

Ponca City writes
"In 1999, a US F-117 Nighthawk was downed by a Serbian anti-aircraft missile during a bombing raid. It was the first time one of the fighters had been hit, and the Pentagon blamed clever tactics and sheer luck. The pilot ejected and was rescued. Now, the Guardian reports that pieces of the wrecked F-117 stealth fighter ended up in the hands of foreign military attaches. 'At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents crisscrossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts of the plane from local farmers,' says Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso, Croatia's military chief of staff during the Kosovo war. 'We believe the Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth technologies... and to reverse-engineer them.' Zoran Kusovac says the Serbian regime routinely shared captured western equipment with its Chinese and Russian allies. 'The destroyed F-117 topped that wish-list for both the Russians and Chinese,' says Kusovac."

[GreyWolf]

the Pentagon blamed clever tactics and sheer luck

...or, you know, your tech is absolute BS, and that's why your jet was shot down by a missile system DEVELOPED IN THE 1960's!!!

[hamin_aus]

I read somethere (abovetopsecret I think) that the F117 got shot down because they flew in the same channel every night, so the Serbs knew exactly where to put their SAM's. The stealth on the Nighthawks was still too good for them, but this unlucky pilot got his landing gear stuck (some claim bomb-bay door) and this appendage created enough of a RCS for one of the missiles to home in.

The plane was almost completely destroyed in the crash tho - the sebs had footage of the burning wreckage on TV for days...

Bottom line is the F117 represents an old generation of Stealth tech. Very little of it is still relevant and it has been proven that you can now track Nighthawks using ordinary cellphone towers.
Hence their retirement from service a few years ago.

[GreyWolf]

I read somethere (abovetopsecret I think) that the F117 got shot down because they flew in the same channel every night, so the Serbs knew exactly where to put their SAM's. The stealth on the Nighthawks was still too good for them, but this unlucky pilot got his landing gear stuck (some claim bomb-bay door) and this appendage created enough of a RCS for one of the missiles to home in.

The plane was almost completely destroyed in the crash tho - the sebs had footage of the burning wreckage on TV for days...

Bottom line is the F117 represents an old generation of Stealth tech. Very little of it is still relevant and it has been proven that you can now track Nighthawks using ordinary cellphone towers.
Hence their retirement from service a few years ago.

So how long till the F35 and F22 are proven as useless as the F117?

[hamin_aus]

Not long, I don't think.

But Stealth is still a field where the anti-tech hasn't caught up to the tech.
If you look other assault tech like tanks, helicopters, even non-stealth jets - the anti-tech is very good at destroying them.
You can destroy a tank from almost 4km away with a TOW missile, and a helicopter from even farther with a Stinger - both of which are portable and can be fired by an infantryman from his shoulder...

Anti-Stealth is not quite there yet, but soon

[GreyWolf]

one day soon...

[rustypup]

top chung?

if true, china's department of propaganda isn't even trying anymore

<edit>... <eyeballs image above... > predator? </edit>

[Anakha56]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/07/x-47 ... ght-video/

X-47B unmanned stealth bomber completes its first flight (video)
By Joseph L. Flatley posted Feb 7th 2011 1:49PM

The evil geniuses at Northrop Grumman successfully completed the first flight of its X-47B unmanned stealth bomber a few days ago at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California. In the air for a full twenty-nine minutes, the tailless, fighter-sized UAV flew to 5,000 feet and completed several racetrack-type patterns, before landing safely at 2:38 pm PST. The aircraft will continue to undergo tests at Edwards AFB before heading to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, later this year. The ultimate goal is to get this bad boy taking off and landing on US Navy carriers. Carrier trials are currently slated for sometime in 2013. Video, PR after the break.

[hamin_aus]

doesn't look big enough to carry even one 1000lbs JDAM...
Hopefully this X plane is just a scaled down version

[GreyWolf]

Eurofighter is so bad. So very very bad.

[RuadRauFlessa]

doesn't look big enough to carry even one 1000lbs JDAM...
Hopefully this X plane is just a scaled down version

Crew: none aboard
Length: 38.2 ft (11.63 m)
Wingspan: 62.1 ft (30.9 ft folded) (18.92 m)
Height: 10.4 ft (3.10 m)
Empty weight: 14 000 lb (6 350.29 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 44 567 lb (20 215 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney F100-220U turbofan

[hamin_aus]

Libya: US fighter jet crash lands in field near Benghazi

The two crew members on the F-15E fighter jet both ejected, suffering minor injuries.

One was quickly picked up by a US military helicopter. The other is said to be "safe" after being rescued by Libyan rebels.

The US miltary said their forces were in the process of having him recovered.

The crashed plane was discovered by a Telegraph journalist reporting in and around Benghazi, the rebel-held city.

It is thought the F-15E fighter jet came to ground after suffering a mechanical failure.

The US military confirmed that one of its jets had crash landed but said that it had not been shot down.

Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the US military's Africa Command, said that one crewman had been recovered and one was "in process of recovery".

Crawley said the crash occurred "overnight." He declined to give the location of the incident and also would not say how the rescued crewman was picked up.

This is the first coalition aircraft to have crash landed during the Libyan conflict following the third night of air strikes.

Later, Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General John Lorimer said that the allied operations had stopped Col Gaddafi's assault on Benghazi in its tracks.

He said that RAF Tornados yesterday flew a reconnaissance sortie to look out for signs of Col Gaddafi's ground troops threatening Libyan civilians, before joining Typhoons at Gioia del Colle on completion of their flight.

The Typhoon patrol of the no-fly zone yesterday was the first time the RAF has used the plane in enemy airspace, he added.

Both Tornados and Typhoons were supported by Awacs surveillance aircraft and VC10 refuelling planes.

Maj Gen Lorimer told a briefing in London: "A formation of Tornado GR4 aircraft flew south from RAF Marham. Unlike their previous sorties on Saturday and Sunday, which were focused on Libyan military command and control facilities and air defence infrastructure, their mission yesterday was an armed reconnaissance sortie to protect directly the local population from attacks by Colonel Gaddafi's ground forces.

"With their state-of-the-art lightning targeting pods and a variety of precision-guided munitions, the Tornados are very well equipped to identify any emerging threats on the ground and to deliver a dynamic and effective response.

"On completion of their mission, the Tornados joined the Typhoon forward base at Gioia del Colle."

Assessing the overall impact of the coalition operation, he added: "At this time, it would not be wise to disclose to Colonel Gaddafi precisely how well we believe we have performed in degrading his command and control network and his integrated air defence system.

"But on a broader level, we have the best possible indication that this operation is having a very real effect - namely, the protection of Benghazi from Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

"Last Friday, regime troops were on the outskirts of Benghazi... Colonel Gaddafi vowed that his men would be going house to house, room to room, to burn out the opposition. Libyan troops were reportedly committing atrocities in outlying areas of the city.

"The military intervention to enforce UNSCR (Security Council Resolution) 1973 has stopped that attack in its tracks.

"That is not to say that all threat to innocent life in and around Benghazi and other cities has been wholly removed. It has not."

[hamin_aus]

China stealth fighter "appears" to have made second flight

China appears to have staged a second test-flight of a new stealth fighter jet, a state-owned newspaper said on Tuesday, which if true could be another step toward narrowing the military gap with the United States.

Photographs of the J-20 stealth fighter jet prototype were circulating on online military forums, the Global Times said, but it did not confirm the flight nor the authenticity of the photographs.

The photos could not be verified by Reuters.

The popular tabloid, owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, showed a photograph of a grey fighter plane and a caption that said "an alleged J-20 prototype prepares to take off" from an airfield in Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province on Sunday.

The aircraft made several passes and waggled its wings to salute the crowd near the airfield," the Global Times quoted an anonymous person as saying.

China's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reports of China's first test-flight of the J-20 in early January had been widely circulated on Chinese Internet blogs and online news sites including the Global Times before the government confirmed the flight during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The claims of a successful second test flight for the advanced fighter follow China's warning in late March that it faced an increasingly volatile Asian region where the United States has expanded its strategic footprint.

Some analysts have said that the first few photos of the J-20 suggest that China may be making faster-than-expected progress in developing a rival to Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor, the world's only operational stealth fighter designed to evade detection by radar.

The latest pictures may heighten concern about China's military build-up, including possible deployment in 2011 of its first aircraft carrier and a new anti-ship ballistic missile that is seen as a threat to U.S. aircraft carriers.

Chinese military and political sources say Beijing could launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, a year earlier than U.S. military analysts had expected.

I still doubt the stealthiness of this plane...
More smoke and mirrors from China

[Sojourn]

Jam, maybe another in-house movie edit taken from hollywood? /jk

I am by no means a "kenner" but it looks stealthy-like to me?

[hamin_aus]

AF: No word when F-22s could fly again

The Air Force’s fleet of F-22 super-jets has been grounded for more than two months now, but service officials had no details Friday about when the F-22s may fly again or even when engineers could finish the investigation into the fighters’ onboard oxygen systems.

“The safety of our airmen is paramount and we will take the necessary time to ensure we perform a thorough investigation,” said Master Sgt. Pamela Anderson, a spokeswoman for Air Combat Command.

Anderson told Buzz that when the grounding is lifted, there may be a bow wave in optempo for F-22 units — Buzz’s phrase, not hers — as everyone involved gets re-qualified on their jobs under operational conditions, as opposed to working with simulators or static aircraft.

“Pilots and ground crew continue to train in simulators and perform ground tasks to stay as proficient as possible,” she said. “Once the aircraft are cleared to fly again, there will be a period where the pilots will need in-flight training to become fully proficient on the aspects of flying that simulators cannot replicate. Some live flight is required for high-G maneuvering flight, a true outside visual, and in-flight decision making in a dynamic environment where simulators are lacking.”

The F-22s could take off if they absolutely had to, the Air Force says — Anderson said the jet “remains available for national security-directed missions” — meaning that if the balloon went up on a World War III-type situation, the fighters and their crews might have to chance it in combat even if engineers didn’t have a permanent fix for their oxygen problems.

Meanwhile, as John wrote this weekend at Defense Tech, this grounding is not only affecting the Air Force’s stockpile of F-22s, it means Lockheed has had to stop delivering new aircraft, too.

[GreyWolf]

“... we will take the necessary time to ensure we perform a thorough investigation,” said Master Sgt. Pamela Anderson...

lol.

[Parabuthus]

Well done Lockheed, one of the most expensive fighters in the world and they did not get the oxygen systems right.

[Sojourn]

“... we will take the necessary time to ensure we perform a thorough investigation,” said Master Sgt. Pamela Anderson...

lol.

I am sure she got issues around people taking her seriously.

[hamin_aus]

Russian Next Generation Stealth Fighter Unveiled at Air Show

Russia showed off its next generation stealth fighter for the first time at a highly-publicized air show today, as the best and most expensive stealth fighter jets America has to offer sit idle on the tarmac.

The Sukhoi T-50, also known as the PAK FA, made its public debut at the MAKS-2011 air show near Moscow Tuesday where Russian air force commander-in-chief Gen. Alexander Zelin said the plane is expected to enter mass production as early as 2014, according to Russian state news RIA Novosti.

The Russians and Chinese aren't even TRYING to be creative about stealing the airframe from the F-22...
Well they got the look almost right, but did they get the technology?

[Parabuthus]

Will be interesting to see what Lockheed skunkworks come up with next in terms of stealth aircraft.

[Hman]

Don't hold your breath.

[Anakha56]

http://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/New- ... y-20110927

New SA aircraft revolutionary
2011-09-27 19:07

Pretoria - Two South African aerospace companies have unveiled what they call the first all-African military plane.

Johannesburg-based Paramount Group's CE, Ivor Ichikowitz, revealed the Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (Ahrlac) on Tuesday, saying the lightweight aircraft can be used for peacekeeping missions and reconnaissance and is armed to defend itself.

Ichikowitz says it's the first such aircraft to be designed and built entirely by African companies.

...

[hamin_aus]

A few problems with this

1. It looks like a cheap POS

Seriously, it's like a fibreglass bi-plane. A bullet from a 9mm pistol would probably bring it down.

2. Denel isn't involved.

The ONLY South African company that has had any real experience building military-grade aircraft. But don't bother with them, lets get two unknown companies in Pretoria to do it.

3. Who in their right mind would consider this over existing tech?

If you need African built reconnaissance planes, Denel have the Seeker II medium-range UAV which has already proved itself.
we do not need small planes for "Reconnaissance" and "peacekeeping" missions.
What they need are helicopters for transport. Transport of troops, civilians and supplies. And our existing police and military helicopter fleet can also do reconnaissance just fine. Buy more of those instead.

I am of the opinion that whoever is marketing this piece of plastic is just making random claims about it's possible uses to drum up interest.

[SykomantiS]

There's this billboard up in Pta in Voortrekkers street, not necessarily of the above, but still lol-worthy. I'll try get a picture