Message posted by Peter Merlin (Member since 11/13/2003) on April 23, 2023 at 8:21:32 PST:
The term AURORA, as used for ATB funding, was coined by Col. Adelbert "Bus" Carpenter when he served as USAF program manager for special access programs in the Pentagon circa 1983-1984. He was ultimately responsible for funding the F-117A, F-22, and B-2. Carpenter has publicly confirmed this use of AURORA, which was also mentioned by Ben Rich in his autobiography, "Skunk Works." The nickname aside, I have yet to see any convincing evidence that a higher, faster, stealthier successor to the Blackbird has been produced even as a prototype. Black programs, particularly ones of that magnitude have a "footprint" that can be detected. The F-117A certainly had a large footprint in the 1980s, long before it was publicly unveiled. Even TACIT BLUE, a relatively modest program, had a detectable footprint in the form of rumors about a funny looking airplane nicknamed "Shamu" after the famous whale at Sea World.
In Reply to: Re: Question about the Aurora project posted by Tom B. Raider on April 23, 2023 at 4:46:58 PST:
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