Message posted by Max Power on March 16, 2021 at 15:29:57 PST:
Q-nimbus says: "I would be surprised if this was anything other than a test for hypersonic missiles being launched out of NTTS. Although I certainly hope I’m wrong and this is a manned prototype." The flight path makes me think it was something coming into the NTTS. As others have eluded to (if I follow correctly), that S-curve of sorts out over the ocean seems to hint at something coming in hot, and needing to do some maneuvers to burn off speed. Would something leaving NTTS at a high rate of speed need to do a maneuver like that? (That's a rhetorical question, I have no clue.) Q-nimbus says: "But at the same time I don’t think there are any black platforms 25+ years old that we don’t know about. After so many years, with all our resources available, we would at least have an inkling of what and how. Just like we’ve never seen an RQ-180 (well, not confirmed), nor a Stealth Black Hawk. But we’re pretty sure they exist." I agree and disagree. In today's world, where everyone has a camera on them, and even teenagers can successfully hack into stuff, one would think the chances of classified info being leaked/exposed would be better than say the 1980s; look at how long the F-117 was in an operational state before anyone knew about it, could that be maintained in today's environment? But then again, the world of black aviation projects sure manages to stay tight-lipped. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if there are airframes in the DOD's inventory that have been in an operational state for 10-20 years (if not longer) that only a handful of qualified individuals know about. I look at info within this site and go "hmm" sometimes. For example, the article under Trip Reports titled "FASTMOVER Black Project Craft sighted (9/8/99)". Let's say the artists rendering on that page is fairly accurate. Alright, what the heck is it? Surely nothing that even resembles a "white" project. A one-off demonstrator? Something that became an operational airframe, that either still exists or has already been retired? Who knows......but it sure is fun to think about.
- Max Power
In Reply to: Re: high zltitude posted by Q-nimbus on March 16, 2021 at 14:13:00 PST:
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