Spied: new UAV in A'stan

[Dr Mordrid]

FlightGlobal....

Kandahar's Loch Ness mystery plane returns [Updated]

Kandahar's Loch Ness monster has been spotted again. This time an actual photo of the beast was published by French journalist Jean-Dominique Merchet, who writes for the Liberation newspaper, on his Secret Defense blog. We last saw the mystery Kandahar aircraft in a drawing by Shephard's Unmanned Vehicles and a very grainy photo published by Air & Cosmos.

The new photo offers a slightly better view of the nose. Is that a canopy screen above the nose? I wondered in May if this might actually be a manned aircraft, even if it was first sighted on UV.com. If there is a cockpit, where is the air intake for the engine? The half-moon exhaust pipe strikingly resembles the P175 Polecat, a Skunk Works product.

Regardless of how it is piloted, the Kandahar aircraft's existence raises several existential questions: What does it do? Why do you need a stealthy-looking aircraft to spy on Al Qaeda and the Taliban? What's all the secrecy about? While I'm asking, can somebody please get a head-on picture?

[UPDATE: Bill Sweetman, of Ares blog infamy, believes the aircraft is the Skunk Works' Desert Prowler, which would make it a UAV.]

This is another angle on the Desert Prowler....looks the same to me.

[Evildead666]

It looks like the ridges in the second image above (the bottom one) are causing an optical illusion of the canopy.

Our skies will probably start filling with these things at home soon....

The we can start hacking them and causing them trouble using high powered directional wireless blockers, full spectrum.

edit : Yes, I know, that last part is a joke. If it can be made in the kitchen, it is probably immune to it...

[Elie]

Now we're talking

[Dr Mordrid]

My take is that it's a light bomber like the P175 Polecat testbed, which it strongly resembles, and the F-117 Stealth Fighter (which was really a bomber. Don't ask ). Polecat was also a testbed/working concept for the "2018 Bomber" project; a high production (100-120 units) follow-on to the B2 Spirit stealth bomber (of which only 21 were made) that could fly manned or as a semi-autonomous robot.

As it is now with the B2 every mission means taking off from its home base/re-arming station at Whiteman AFB in Missouri, flying non-stop to the target then turning around and going back to Whiteman. This because the B2's stealthy skin is somewhat soft and its 70's - 80's tech systems, so both require frequent maintenance, which drives operational costs through the roof. The "2018 Bomber" would use newer more durable tech that would allow it to fly from airfields the B2 could never use and with far less maintenance. The result would be forward deployment, which would in turn allow for faster mission turnarounds.

We've also learned a lot about building such planes at a lower price point than the B2's $2.13 billion each. Example is the new, stealthy Avenger UAV/bomber. It can carry 3,000 lbs of ordinance, is a jet (other Predator-style UAV's have been prop jobs), carries several of the new F-35 Lightning II's systems and costs a pittance. It can also carry the super-smart and insanely accurate SDB - small diameter bomb - which only weighs 250 lbs yet one of its options can do the job of a 1,000+ lb penetration bomb; it uses newly developed and advanced high yield explosives in a 2 stage load, one being a shaped charge in its nose and the other a delayed fuse main charge.

Problem is its range and for many B2-ish missions a larger bomb load is in order - 40,000 lbs or more. It also isn't manned-optional, which for some missions is still desirable. Enter the 2018 Bomber.

Dawn of the robots.....

Polecat






Avenger


2018 Bomber concept art (Boeing)

[MultimediaMan]

This UAV is definitely a weapons platform, and stealthy as hell. Flying wings can carry a LOT of fuel, and generally have quite a weapons payload - I would not be surprised to find out this thing carries 8000-16000 lbs of ordnance. Look at how large those landing wheels are: they wouldn't be that big if it wasn't heavy. The turbojet they use is very quiet at cruising speed...probably around 450 knots. I doubt seriously it could be heard even with a directional microphone past 5 or 6 miles...which is Waaaay too close for your health. I am interested to know what they've put in the weapon's bays... Missiles, Bombs (or both). Without a shot of the front of the vehicle, we'll never know if it is capable of In Flight refueling, but I would be very hesitant to bet against that.

I am with the Doc: this thing, with a bunch of 250LB SDBs can stay up and loiter for a LONG time, and the 250Lb Bombs are accurate as hell: both GPS and Laser-designated versions exist, and there are a number of fuse options which can be set on command while in flight. If this thing can carry 16+ of these bombs, this thing can wait out the enemy or simply roam against targets of opportunity. Waiting for a recon UAV or ground based team to steer in the weapons. Hell, it is not beyond the realm of possibility to actually RELEASE the weapons from the weapons platform by the targetting platform. Forward Observers suddenly become Forward Fire Control.

[Dr Mordrid]

^^^^----- what 3M said about the wheels...they literally scream "big payload", and with the size of this thing SDB's and strike missiles are the natural ordinance to stuff in its internal weapons bay.

Probably one missile option is the new Spike: 25 inches long, 5.3 lbs and just $5,000 each it's a downright tiny replacement for the much more expensive 100 lb Hellfire used on the Predators. It can also be re-targeted in flight.

This UAV just has to be deadly as hell - a true Hunter/Killer.

Desert Prowler flight test program patch.

The 5 stars on top and 1 on the bottom indicate the test flights were done at Area 51 (big surprise ). The Roman numerals are 9 and 11, an obvious reference to the 9/11 attacks.


Spike


What Spike can do - the passenger window was targeted, and hit.

[Dr Mordrid]

The UAV's been outed: it's the RQ-170 Sentinel, supposedly a new recon unit but a lot of folks in the Aviation Week blog are questioning he "RQ" (recon) designation because of that huge fuselage bulge. Their bet is that there is also an "MQ" (attack drone) in the hangar with a hellatious weapons bay for its size.

[MultimediaMan]

It's an MQ, and there probably is NOT an RQ... There are no video/LIDAR humps on the fuselage. And it wouldn't be very stealthy were there to be any. This thing is just a "bunker in the sky" from which to deliver ordnance...by remote control.