Did the US peak with the SR-71?

[Kalbi]

Area-51...UFOs are really classified govt planes.

 

[JoeKing]

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: JoeKing

Originally posted by: iwearnosox
I'm dating a girl with a top secret clearance at lockheed. She's not allowed to tell me what she does but I get the feeling it's got something to do with advanced propulsion. Get her started with carbon nanotubes and other advanced materials and she doesn't shut up about it. I know it falls under the "black projects" area though.

I wish I knew what they were working on.

woman that talks enthusiastically about nanotubes and advanced materials = instant hotness in my book :thumbsup:

Assuming she's hitable, QFFT

as long as she didn't make little children cry when entering a room, or wasn't 35+, I'd find her hot regardless.

 

[GoingUp]

theres the aurora spyplane... supposed to have a scram jet engine... its been seen by oil workers but not many other people

 

[Rebasxer]

Anybody read the article in popsci or popmech recently about the future of fighter planes. It segwayed into unmaned air craft but the first half was talking about Raptor. Apperntly they've thrown everything at it from f-15's to the latest mig's and nothing has ever gotten a lock on the thing. It's simutlated combat record is something ridiculous like 82-0.

But yea, if the F-117 was built in the 60's and 70's and not unveiled until the gulf war in 91, imagine what we have now. I mean most countries didn't even develop stealth tech until we gave it to them, and if not it wasn't until the mid to late 90's. The U.S is probably 100years more advanced in technology than most of the world at this point. And we should be with all the damned money we throw at defense tech.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: JoeKing
It's been almost 40 years since the Blackbird was introduced, and officially the SR-71 has been retired since '97. No plane we know of has flown even close to that envelope.

Has supersonic speed peaked with the the Blackbird?

Yes, and you won't know about it for quite some time. It's out of Area 51, yes Area 51, and it has won the x-prize long ago. It's rumored to be able to go over the US in 1 or 2 hours. I forget which.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
as you said...no plane we know of.

you can bet dollars to donuts there is something more advanced in the US arsenal now...

In regards to advanced. The Raptor is. The B2 Stealth Bomber is. List goes on really. If advanced is your concern.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: cruiser1338
Dude this is my forte. There's (apparently) a new plane called the Aurora. It uses a new form of propulsion called pulse detonation wave engine. It sets off a sound wave, and then the plane rides the edge of that wave (or something like that).

PDEs are not AFAIK speculated to be in aurora. PDE's are potentially a new form of jet engine though.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviation/article/0,20967,473272,00.html

You mean the scramjet? It's ol tech, jsut coming of age now though.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

http://seekers.100megs6.com/UFOManTR-3B.htm

??? Well, a head of Lockhead said we have things that are 50 years beyond anyone imagination. But he refused to elaborate. This fits the bill.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

http://www.dreamlandresort.com/black_projects/boscombe.htm

COOL The site itself is pretty neat.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

did you know So thinks we're not intellegant any more :laugh:.

 

[JoeKing]

Originally posted by: lobadobadingdong
did you know So thinks we're not intellegant any more :laugh:.

Don't worry about SO, he's just got sand in his vagina.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: Theguynextdoor

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: cruiser1338
Dude this is my forte. There's (apparently) a new plane called the Aurora. It uses a new form of propulsion called pulse detonation wave engine. It sets off a sound wave, and then the plane rides the edge of that wave (or something like that).

PDEs are not AFAIK speculated to be in aurora. PDE's are potentially a new form of jet engine though.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviation/article/0,20967,473272,00.html

Very good read there.

Also guys, the SR-71 was very unefficient. It leaked and burns most of it's fuel at takeoff, then refuels in air and has to reach a certain speed after that in order to expand enough to seal the fuel in. O_O

I guess the XMen must have used Jean Grey to keep the fuel in.

BTW, how could any government test significantly advanced technologies without other governments picking them up? I'd imagine an aircraft traveling faster than mach 4 would really stand out and be picked up by someone's sattelite.

And if government's have such advanced technology that kicks ass, why not bring it out during war time?

I could believe a statement that the government has tech 20 years beyond what the consumer has access to, but not that the government has tech 20 years beyond what we actually know they have. At one time that was probably true, but information travels too freely now. Now, they might have something now that won't be unveiled for 20 years, but I don't think it would be significantly better.

Oh, I'm pretty sure I played games years ago that had the F22 flyable, it was never very impressive in the games, usually it was outmaneuvered by F16s.

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: bernse
New stealth spyplane

 

[cavemanmoron]

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=62006

House moves to save F/A-22, C-130J

The Associated Press - WASHINGTON

Two endangered Georgia weapons programs got stays of execution from the U.S. House, and the state's lawmakers expressed optimism Tuesday the Senate would follow.

As part of a bill that pays for defense programs next year, the House guaranteed full funding of the C-130J Hercules contract through 2008 as well as next year's line of 25 F/A-22 Raptors. The Pentagon had initially sought to halt both contracts.

But the best news Monday for Lockheed Martin's plant in Marietta, Ga., could be a study ordered in the legislation to determine whether the Raptor line should remain open well past 2009. The result could ultimately spike rather than cut the number of Raptors produced, said Rep. Phil Gingrey, who was instrumental in getting the measure included in the bill.

"Five months ago we were looking down both barrels of a sawed-off shotgun," said Gingrey, R-Ga. "Certainly it's a good feeling right now. I know it's not soup yet, but it's a darn good feeling."

Earlier this year, the Pentagon signaled it wanted to end production of the C-130J at the end of next year. But to cancel the rest of the contract would cost as much as $1.6 billion _ far more than projected, so Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld eventually backed off those plans.

The fate of the Raptor, also targeted for cuts, remains murky. But because Congress writes the checks for the Pentagon, support from both houses would have the effect of forcing the department to look elsewhere for cost savings.

Georgia's senators, Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, have support from a broad coalition of senators who oppose cuts to both weapons programs.

"This is outstanding news for Georgia and for this nation," Isakson said of the move by the House. "The F/A-22 and the C-130J are critical to our military operations, and I am glad Congress has recognized how vitally important these aircraft are to the national security of the United States."

The Raptor, conceived almost two decades ago as a stealthy, pre-eminent air fighting system, remains a darling of the Air Force, which has defended it countless times despite skepticism from lawmakers and the Pentagon.

But critics, including Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers For Common Sense, have called it a "relic of the Cold War" that doesn't seem to have much of a future but still costs more than any fighter jet in history.

Besides saving the two aircraft, the House directed the Air Force to investigate how to modernize the C-130J in order to use it to replace the Air Force Combat Search and Rescue HC-130 fleet. Much of the fleet is either grounded or restricted.

Four E-8 Joint-STARS aircraft at Robins Air Force Base would get new engines under the bill, and there is money for several multi-service research and development programs at Robins, Georgia Tech University and Morehouse College.

 

[ViciouS]

The government uses a super invisible spy plane to spy on me it looks through my windows at night. They even made a model that looks like my ex girlfriend, sometimes late at night i can see her looking at me. That?s why I put tin foil on my windows, i also wear a tinfoil helmet so they cant steal my brain waves.

Damn I got to go my cat just knocked over my meth lab, and I can't find my 8 ball, I think the lepricons stole it again.

Anyone know how to get the snakes out of my mattress? I'm so tired of sleeping in the bathtub.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: ViciouS
The government uses a super invisible spy plane to spy on me it looks through my windows at night. They even made a model that looks like my ex girlfriend, sometimes late at night i can see her looking at me. That?s why I put tin foil on my windows, i also wear a tinfoil helmet so they cant steal my brain waves.

Damn I got to go my cat just knocked over my meth lab, and I can't find my 8 ball, I think the lepricons stole it again.

Anyone know how to get the snakes out of my mattress? I'm so tired of sleeping in the bathtub.

lol

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: Fox5
I guess the XMen must have used Jean Grey to keep the fuel in.

BTW, how could any government test significantly advanced technologies without other governments picking them up? I'd imagine an aircraft traveling faster than mach 4 would really stand out and be picked up by someone's sattelite.

And if government's have such advanced technology that kicks ass, why not bring it out during war time?

I could believe a statement that the government has tech 20 years beyond what the consumer has access to, but not that the government has tech 20 years beyond what we actually know they have. At one time that was probably true, but information travels too freely now. Now, they might have something now that won't be unveiled for 20 years, but I don't think it would be significantly better.

Oh, I'm pretty sure I played games years ago that had the F22 flyable, it was never very impressive in the games, usually it was outmaneuvered by F16s.

Please, please, please tell me you are being sarcastic.

Little known but cool fact of the day: E-8 JSTARS (the AWACS for ground units) needs a plane like a U-2 carrying a SAR pod (basically ground-mapping radar) to upload terrain data into the JSTARS computers to integrate into the controller's display. Without it, the controller sees the location of units, but not the terrain around them.

 

[amcdonald]

Does anyone really think that the US doesn't have more advanced planes than we know of?

 

[kaizersose]

i am bookmarking this thread. it's too funny reading some of this stuff.

-basing real-life commentary on video-game experience
-thinkin' that a pulse-jet engine (the pre-cursor to current jet tech) to a pulse-detonation enginer (future jet tech)
-etc.

it's not all about speed people. the sr-71 was and is a great plane, but if the govt still wanted/needed it, they would be using it.

 

[SNiPeRX]

Originally posted by: kaizersose
i am bookmarking this thread. it's too funny reading some of this stuff.

-basing real-life commentary on video-game experience
-thinkin' that a pulse-jet engine (the pre-cursor to current jet tech) to a pulse-detonation enginer (future jet tech)
-etc.

it's not all about speed people. the sr-71 was and is a great plane, but if the govt still wanted/needed it, they would be using it.

thank you... well said. if we needed the aircraft we would be using it.

due to sat tech, we really don't need the sr-71 or aircraft of the kind. the speeds that aircraft went was to fast for air to air and to fast for bombing. the b-1 and b-2 cover the bombing area good enough. the f-22 and f-18 do the job for air to air. and the f-15 does hte job of both good, and hopefully i will be flying one of those soon.

btw my shift key does not work...

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: SNiPeRX

due to sat tech, we really don't need the sr-71 or aircraft of the kind. the speeds that aircraft went was to fast for air to air and to fast for bombing. the b-1 and b-2 cover the bombing area good enough. the f-22 and f-18 do the job for air to air. and the f-15 does hte job of both good, and hopefully i will be flying one of those soon.

btw my shift key does not work...

Satellites do not replace spy planes. Satellites follow predictable flight paths and the enemy knows when they'll be overhead. Because of this, they surely won't have what they're trying to hid out in the open when a satellite is overhead.

Also, satellites don't have the resolution that spy planes do. While a spy plane might be 80,000 feet up, a satellite is about 300 miles up.

Another thing about spy planes and satellites for that matter is that they don't talk about where or when they're using them. For all you know, they could still operate spy planes over territory such as North Korea, and they probably do.

 

[xaeniac]

Some of the responses are so stupid. I mean this was meant to be a serious discussion, oh i forgot it's ATOT...

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: SNiPeRX

Originally posted by: kaizersose
i am bookmarking this thread. it's too funny reading some of this stuff.

-basing real-life commentary on video-game experience
-thinkin' that a pulse-jet engine (the pre-cursor to current jet tech) to a pulse-detonation enginer (future jet tech)
-etc.

it's not all about speed people. the sr-71 was and is a great plane, but if the govt still wanted/needed it, they would be using it.

thank you... well said. if we needed the aircraft we would be using it.

due to sat tech, we really don't need the sr-71 or aircraft of the kind. the speeds that aircraft went was to fast for air to air and to fast for bombing. the b-1 and b-2 cover the bombing area good enough. the f-22 and f-18 do the job for air to air. and the f-15 does hte job of both good, and hopefully i will be flying one of those soon.

btw my shift key does not work...

Not an air superiority fighter, but I think the YF-12 would've made a great interceptor. Problem was, we didn't really need a great interceptor.

If you read Skunk Works there were proposals for making Blackbird strike aircraft. It presents the decision not to build them as a puzzling mistake, but the author might be a bit biased towards his own bird.

 

[coolVariable]

Originally posted by: OffTopic

Originally posted by: alien42
i would still bet money that scramjets will become a viable reality within my lifetime. the x43a set a new world speed record of for jet-powered aircraft of mach 9.6 less then a year ago.


comparing the x43 to the sr71:

"In March 2004, the X-43A set the previous record of Mach 6.8 (nearly 5,000 mph). The fastest air-breathing, manned vehicle, the U.S. Air Force SR-71, achieved slightly more than Mach 3.2. The X-43A more than doubled, then tripled, the top speed of the jet-powered SR-71."

Scramjet is not known to be fuel efficient.

The scramjet engine is ESPECIALLY FUEL EFFICIENT.
Do research before posting!!!

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: bernse

Originally posted by: wafflesandsyrup
why couldnt they just work with the sr-71 to make it more efficient like the old school f-14 keeps doing?

The "old school" F14 is now officially on its deathbed too. The last squadron is due to be retired this year (or is it next..?) Either way, they are woefully aged now. Still look cool, but their main mission (Fleet Defense) is no longer such a requirement. All it's secondary missions which were pasted onto it over the years (A/G especially) and it became a jack of all trades and master of none. The Super Hornet is replacing most of it's squadrons and is a superior aircraft in almost every respect compared to the 'Tom.

But, damn, the Tomcat was a great looking aircraft. Just damn tough looking.

If I'm not mistaken, the last F-14 squadron has already switched to Super Hornets. I believe the Kittyhawk was the last carrier to have them, and they moved out of Japan last year (or beginning of this one).