|
Black Projects
A black project is a highly classified, top-secret military or defense project that is not publicly acknowledged by government, military personnel, or contractors. Examples of United States military aircraft developed as black projects include the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft and the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, both of which were highly classified and publicly denied until they were ready to be announced to the public. In the United States, the formal term for a black project is '' special access program'' (''SAP''). The money that funds these projects is called the ''black budget''. Examples United States Previously classified * Manhattan Project * B-2 Spirit stealth bomber * Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk stealth helicopter * Boeing Bird of Prey stealth technology demonstrator * F-117 Nighthawk stealth ground-attack aircraft * KH-11 Kennen reconnaissance satellite * SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3.3 very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft * Lockheed CL- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurora (aircraft)
Aurora was a rumored mid-1980s American reconnaissance aircraft. There is no substantial evidence that it was ever built or flown and it has been termed a myth."Aurora, Strategic Reconnaissance." ''AerospaceWeb.org.'' Retrieved: 17 October 2010. The U.S. government has consistently denied such an aircraft was ever built. Aviation and space reference site ''Aerospaceweb.org'' concluded, "The evidence supporting the Aurora is circumstantial or pure conjecture, there is little reason to contradict the government's position." Former |
Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircraft to be designed with stealth technology. The F-117 was based on the ''Have Blue'' technology demonstrator. The Nighthawk's maiden flight took place in 1981 at Groom Lake, Nevada, and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983. The aircraft was shrouded in secrecy until it was revealed to the public in 1988. Of the 64 F-117s built, 59 were production versions, with the other five being prototypes. The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Gulf War of 1991. Although it was commonly referred to as the "Stealth Fighter", it was strictly an attack aircraft. F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia, where one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) in 1999. The U.S. Air Force retired the F-1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircraft to be designed with stealth technology. The F-117 was based on the ''Have Blue'' technology demonstrator. The Nighthawk's maiden flight took place in 1981 at Groom Lake, Nevada, and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983. The aircraft was shrouded in secrecy until it was revealed to the public in 1988. Of the 64 F-117s built, 59 were production versions, with the other five being prototypes. The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Gulf War of 1991. Although it was commonly referred to as the "Stealth Fighter", it was strictly an attack aircraft. F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia, where one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) in 1999. The U.S. Air Force retired the F-117 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classified Information
Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, and mishandling of the material can incur criminal penalties. A formal security clearance is required to view or handle classified material. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation. Documents and other information must be properly marked "by the author" with one of several (hierarchical) levels of sensitivity—e.g. restricted, confidential, secret, and top secret. The choice of level is based on an impact assessment; governments have their own criteria, including how to determine the classification of an information asset and rules on how to protect information classified at each level. This process often includes security clearances for personnel handling the information. Some corporations and non-governm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel
The Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Lockheed Martin and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While the USAF has released few details on the UAV's design or capabilities, defense analysts believe that it is a stealth aircraft fitted with aerial reconnaissance equipment. Introduced in 2007, it was deployed to Afghanistan in late 2007, and to South Korea two years later, in September 2009. Some images and details of the aircraft were released after Iran–U.S. RQ-170 incident, Iran captured an RQ-170 in 2011. It has a flying wing design, and uses a single engine, speculated to be either a General Electric TF34 turbofan or a Garrett TFE731. Development The RQ-170 Sentinel was developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works as a Stealth aircraft, stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Journalists have noted design similarities between the RQ-170 and previous stealth and UAV prog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Project Coast
Project Coast was a 1980s top-secret chemical and biological weapons (CBW) program instituted by the apartheid-era government of South Africa. Project Coast was the successor to a limited postwar CBW program, which mainly produced the lethal agents CX powder and mustard gas; as well as non-lethal tear gas for riot control purposes. The program was headed by Wouter Basson, a cardiologist who was the personal physician of South African Prime Minister P. W. Botha. History From 1975 onwards, the South African Defence Force (SADF) found itself embroiled in conventional battles in Angola as a result of the South African Border War. The perception that its enemies had access to battlefield chemical and biological weapons led South Africa to begin expanding its own program, initially as a defensive measure and by carrying out research on vaccines. As the years went on, research was carried out on offensive uses of the newly found capability. Finally, in 1981, President P. W. Botha ordere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xian H-20
The Xian H-20 (; alternatively Xian H-X) is a projected subsonic stealth bomber design of the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It is referred to as a strategic project by the People's Liberation Army. The H-20 will be the first dedicated strategic bomber developed by China. The aircraft may enter service in the 2020s. The development of a strategic bomber was revealed in September 2016.Grossman et al.: page 50 Design and development In 2016, People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) general Ma Xiaotian announced that China was developing a new type of long-range bomber on the air force's open day. In 2018, a Chinese military spokesperson confirmed the development was making "great progress". According to the United States Department of Defense, the H-20 is expected to be a flying wing with a range of at least 8,500 km and a payload capacity of at least 10 tonnes; according to the Rand Corporation, an American funded thinktank, it will allow China "to reliably threaten U.S. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Triangle (UFO)
Black triangles are UFOs reported as having a triangular shape and dark color, typically observed at night, described as large, silent, hovering, moving slowly, and displaying pulsating, colored lights and can turn their lights off. British sightings and UK Ministry of Defence Report A declassified report from the UK Ministry of Defence, addressing Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) within the UK Air Defence Region and code named Project Condign, includes analyses of black triangle sightings. The report includes the statement that "the majority, if not all, of the hitherto unexplained reports may well be due to atmospheric gaseous electrically charged buoyant plasmas" that are "capable of being transported at enormous speeds under the influence and balance of electrical charges in the atmosphere." The report also notes that "at least some" of the black triangle observations likely arise from meteor entry into the atmosphere. Regarding the triangular shapes, the report also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed Martin SR-72
The Lockheed Martin SR-72, colloquially referred to as "Son of Blackbird", is an American hypersonic UAV concept intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) proposed privately in 2013 by Lockheed Martin as a successor to the retired Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The company expected an SR-72 test vehicle could fly by 2025. Design and development Background and early work The SR-71 Blackbird was retired by the USAF in 1998, leaving a potential coverage gap between surveillance satellites, crewed aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions. With the growth of anti-satellite weapons, anti-access/area denial tactics, and counter-stealth technologies, it was thought that a high-speed aircraft could penetrate protected airspace and observe or strike a target before enemies could detect or intercept it. The proposed reliance on extremely high speed to penetrate defended airspace is considered a si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
K-129
''K-129'' (Russian: К–129) was a Project 629A (Russian: проект 629А ''Projekt 629A'', NATO reporting name Golf II–class) diesel-electric- powered ballistic-missile submarine that served in the Pacific Fleet of the Soviet Navy–one of six Project 629 strategic ballistic-missile submarines assigned to the 15th Submarine Squadron based at Rybachiy Naval Base near Petropavlovsk, commanded by Rear Admiral Rudolf Golosov. The ''K-129''s commander was Captain First Rank Vladimir I. Kobzar, and she carried the hull number 722 on her final deployment, during which she sank on 8 March 1968. This was one of four mysterious submarine disappearances in 1968, the others being the Israeli submarine , the , and the American submarine . After nearly two weeks of silence during her patrol in the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet Navy officials became concerned about her status and reportedly deployed large numbers of aviation and ships to search for the vessel, but no sign or w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hughes Mining Barge
The ''Hughes Mining Barge'', or ''HMB-1'', is a submersible barge about 99 m (324 ft) long, 32 m (106 ft) wide, and more than 27 m (90 ft) tall. The ''HMB-1'' was originally developed as part of Project Azorian (more widely, but erroneously, known as "Project Jennifer"), the top-secret effort mounted by the Central Intelligence Agency to salvage the wreckage of the Soviet submarine ''K-129'' from the ocean floor. The ''HMB-1'' was designed to allow the device that would be used to grasp and lift the submarine to be constructed inside the barge and out of sight, and to be installed in the ''Glomar Explorer'' in secrecy. This was done by towing the ''HMB-1'', with the capture device inside, to a location near Catalina Island (off the coast of California), and then submerging it onto stabilizing piers that had been installed on the seafloor. The ''Glomar Explorer'' was then maneuvered over the ''HMB-1'', the retractable roof was opened, and the captur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Shadow (IX-529)
''Sea Shadow'' (IX-529) was an experimental stealth ship built by Lockheed for the United States Navy to determine how a low radar profile might be achieved and to test high stability hull configurations that have been used in oceanographic ships. Development ''Sea Shadow'' was built in 1984 to examine the application of stealth technology on naval vessels, and was used in secret until a public debut in 1993. In addition, the ship was designed to test the use of automation to reduce crew size. The ship was created by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Navy and Lockheed. ''Sea Shadow'' was developed and built at Lockheed's Redwood City, California facility, inside the Hughes Mining Barge (HMB-1), which functioned as a floating drydock during construction and testing. History ''Sea Shadow'' had a SWATH (small-waterplane-area twin hull) design. Below the water were submerged twin hulls, each with a propeller, aft stabilizer, and inboard hydrofoil. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
