It's a Friday night, and we all deserve something juicy, so let's talk black projects.
Between the OBL Stealth-hawk, the RQ-170, and the 2014 sightings in Amarillo and Wichita, we know that over the past decade there have been AT LEAST 4 systems operating to various extents under that veil of secrecy.
So what capabilities does the USAF have? What exotic assets might they have hiding out at Tonopah or Groom Lake? Might we ever see any of them?
Let's try to keep this discussion focused on REAL aircraft, so let's admit that the Aurora was a lot of wishful thinking, and let's keep the TR-3B in /x/ where it belongs.
Fire away, anons...
>>29623085
>So what capabilities does the USAF have? What exotic assets might they have hiding out at Tonopah or Groom Lake?
Aliums
>>29623085
My knowledge of classified government projects is very small.
>>29623085
The Air Force is currently testing an ion engine on their X-37 spaceplane right now. What else it's being used for, no one really knows for sure.
>>29623167
I had heard other flights might have had something to do with compact optics for the NRO
But yeah, there's some incredibly spooky stuff going on with that little spaceplane, to the point where it's kind of shocking that they keep it so well publicized.
What about the reactionless drive? No real military applications at this point but a lot of promise for space stuff.
Fuck that man, what about the Russians or Chyna? They both must of had some fucked up stuff since the cold war, but we can't be the only ones in the black projects game right? Like, dem Ruskies have all dat Siberia to test their little motha fucken niggas hearts out. So tell me Mr.KGB cracka, the fuck does you niggas got unda dat motha fuckin snow and sheit east of the Urals?
>>29623085
I wouldn't worry about it.
>>29623294
E V A C U A T E
V
A
C
U
A
T
E
>>29623286
I've also been fascinated by this. Wasn't the biggest laser in the world (in the 80's) part of an experimental antimissile system in the USSR?
My guess is that their prowess in the black world mirrored their prowess in the white.
AKA, our aircraft make theirs look like Fred Flintstone designed them, and they really struggle to make shitty copies that can't match the capabilities of our stuff (think the M-50 and the Sukhoi T-4 vs the XB-70, or the Tu-144 vs Concorde), while they almost certainly had some crazy shit compared to ours when it came to missile systems and space.
And then, there's the whole business with their small fleet of nuclear midget submarines with ever-increasing crush depths. That also gets incredibly spooky incredibly fast.
Pic related.
>>29623286
The CYKA BLYAT version of the White Walkers.
An entire army of drunk vatnik russian peasants, hiding underneath the snow.
>>29623167
From the thumbnail it looks like the original battlestar galactica, and i was like forget engines, when did the air force discover ftl?
>>29623085
What's aurora anD the tr-3b not too in detail just a tldr
>>29623399
Aurora was the long-rumored SR-71 follow-on, that was supposedly some sort of air-breathing hypersonic spyplane not unlike a militarized version of the NASA X-30 concept.
Problem was, the whole notion was completely erroneous and was based off of a non-redacted budget line from the late 80's that was actually in reference to the then-deep black B-2 program.
Which isn't to say that there hasn't been a replacement for the SR-71, as a delta-winged black craft was spotted in the late 80's over the North Sea, and there was also whatever crashed at Boscombe Down in 1994.
But whatever it was, was most definitely NOT called Aurora, and the fact that we still can't really make hypersonics work in 2016 should tell you that it wasn't hypersonic, either.
As for the TR-3B, that's some tinfoil-tier conspiracy BS about the USAF using reverse-engineered Ayy LMAO technology in a fleet of black equilateral triangles that are capable of spaceflight and are based in secret underground/undersea bases.
>They are using F-117s as testbeds for the autonomous capability of the B-21
>Lasers for point defense on large and slow aircraft like the C-17 and C-130
>Super Hornet replacement is deep in development
>>29623755
OP here.
I know my stuff, but wanted to get a discussion going, and it's pretty clear to me from that post that you know your stuff as well.
Are you talking about using a pod like HELLADS on the C-17 and C-130, or have you heard something about a more "integral" system?
I also have a sense that the secret F-117 flights are being used to test B-21 coatings on something which probably has the most known/studied RCS in USAF history.
As for the F/A-XX, I've heard some interesting stuff, and that's about all I want to say.
>>29623286
/pol/detected
>>29623196
>But yeah, there's some incredibly spooky stuff going on with that little spaceplane, to the point where it's kind of shocking that they keep it so well publicized.
What if I told you that they completed it in 1976 and they're just leaking the info now to keep people entertained?
>>29623836
I'd be more inclined to believe you if you were talking about something similar to, but other different from the X-37B.
>>29623085
>It's a Friday night, and we all deserve something juicy, so let's endanger servicemen and get fired
>>29623815
I thought f/a-xx was real deal? Thought it was known to be the upcoming replacements for superhornets desu
>>29623815
The stealth transport Lockheed is working on has it integrated fully
Kind of a newfag question but the Air Force makes its own shit? I always thought it was corporations. Lowest bidder and all that.
>>29623369
>nuclear midget submarines
>>29624002
>Kind of a newfag question but the Air Force makes its own shit?
Nope
>I always thought it was corporations.
Yes, but the Airforce always lays out requirements and offers feedback.
>Lowest bidder and all that.
Not always, the USAF seems to have more leeway with this since airpower has arguably the highest priority for the DOD ever since WW2.
>>29623085
>>29623815
In b4 this is an attempt by the powers that would rather not be known to find out how much the "deep web" knows about classified intel.
>>29624014
well, "midget submarines" insomuch as any SSN could ever be called a "midget" submarine.
But we're talking Type 206/209 or Vastergotland size rather than even Rubis-class sized.
>>29623815
They're putting a fuckhuge laser on the Ghostrider eventually, it should be capable of disabling cars and Shit apparently.
>>29624066
Oh, they've got better places to go sniffing around than to sift through shitposts on some Burmese beaver-milking forum
>>29623755
>Super Hornet replacement is deep in development
It's called the F-35.
>>29624137
no it isnt
>>29624137
It is replacing the older Hornets, but only supplementing the current super hornet stores.
>>29623294
serious question, are you not afraid that they monitor your online activity? even if you don't say anything top secret, just posting in a thread about classified air force shit while doing classified air force shit has to send up some red flags with some agency, right?
or am i just being paranoid?
>>29624164
This, the borderline hypersonic ADVENT derivative-powered aircraft with the fluidic thrust vectoring and the built in laser will be the REAL Rhino replacement...
>>29624249
In 2014, the poster now known as "Reaper" was killed in a drone crash. His tripcode is now used by the USAF as a way to monitor the online imageboard known as "4chan"
>>29624278
it all makes sense now
>>29624249
I wouldn't worry about it.
>>29624322
i don't, i'm talking about you, sir.
>>29624341
My old security manager was a trip on /a/
>>29624369
it all makes sense now
>>29624369
Seriously? That's awesome. I've only met airmen that browse boards on here. Lots of guys that like guns, but no one that gets on here. Also, both of us know you deflected with your weeaboo security manager.
>>29624379
Most new RPA dudes are fucking nerds, it is kind of embarrassing/ridiculous.
>>29624369
It's funny to think about all the service people on 4chan. I know /co/'s Zootopia thread had Homeland Security and the NYPD's anti-Terrorism task force posting on it.
Which also explains why Moot2 can't possible keep this clear. Our tax dollars are going to fund proxies and TOR systems that help facilitate funposting.
>>29624389
Not really defecting, there isn't a slew of OPSEC people tracing everything a TS person posts online.
>>29624401
screencap?
>>29624400
Makes sense, pilots seem like massive nerds already. I
>>29624429
deflecting* I am kind of drunk.
Delete this thread.
>>29624435
The pilots are fine, it is the enlisted. I have been in this career for 6+ years and more and more of the new guys are fucking weeabos. They must think this is like one of their Japanese anime.
>>29624429
but the trip and your clearance probably make you somewhat more conscious of the things you post, right?
I'm not super conspiracy theory tin foil, but its naive to think that counter intel and signals intel agencies aren't monitoring keywords, especially here
>>29624429
If you would have answered anything other than this then I would have known you were full of shit.
>>29624447
Get the fuck out of here. Or contribute.
>>29624466
Are you enlisted man?
>>29624278
Oh no, the infamous hacker known as Four Chan??!!
>>29623196
Well let's extrapolate from this.
One of America's satellite problems is that satellites are undefendable, and expensive to boot. Good news: tech has made some stuff cheaper. It's also easier to get into space if you have your own hydrazine ups truck (aka x-37b).
Since in a shooting war America's satellites are easily targeted (China shot down a satellite with a missile, it isn't improbable that they will continue to develop ASat technologies), you need a defense. Option one: active defense, which isn't really feasible or economical. Option 2: armor, which just makes it heavier and more expensive. Option 3: make them easy to replace. Option 4: make them so numerous the enemy can't really deal with them easily. Option 5: make them harder to detect or blend in with the rest of the debris cloud.
If the NRO is experimenting with smaller satellites, it is possible they are trying to make smaller, cheaper spy satellites to supplement a few shiny mega spy satellites. Imagine coating the entire planet full time with satellite imagery on par with 80's imagery. Maybe even 90's or early 2000's, all for a fraction of the cost and size. If you lose one, no big deal the X-37 can serve up a new batch tomorrow.
Imagine live coverage of the better part of the world, a sacrifice of expensive resolution for cheaper coverage area. A net so wide and far that it wouldn't be practical to identify, track, and blast each and every one.
Maybe that's what the NRO is planning.
I could be wrong, this is just an anon on a Vietnamese fingerprainting board
>>29624467
I obviously don't post anything classified, that would be a rookie mistake.
>>29624487
yes
>>29624504
That makes us two enlisted folk working with RPAs. AFSC?
>>29624513
1U, 1N0? I think I have seen your posts before.
>>29624490
I like that idea. I like it a lot.
I'll also point out that the Chinese shoot-down of that satellite in 2005 or so coincides pretty well with a certain decidedly non-satellite imaging platform that started showing up ~8 years after that Chinese anti-NRO PR stunt.
CAPTCHA: AIRPLANES
If the air force has its own space shuttle then do they also have their own astronauts?
Is there an airforce astronaut corps?
>>29624534
1N0. Cool beans man. Don't have a trip myself. Might make it Predator. Just kidding.
>>29624538
"Had", not "has", and "did they" not "do they"...
>>29624538
All branches have astronauts.
>>29624538
Most astronauts are military officers, bruh. They even used to use that in their ad campaigns. "Wanna be an astronaut? Join the Air Force!"
>>29624550
did you start this thread?
https://desustorage.org/k/thread/29541679/#q29541679
>>29624277
>Hypersonic
>USAF
Pffffttt, we know slow and stealthy is better, why the fuck do you think we bought the LRASM instead of sanicshit?
>>29624574
I volunteer for 365s to space all the time. Fucking Colonels always get them...
>>29624579
Can't get to it right now mang, says it's down. Ill keep trying.
>>29624401
>/co/'s Zootopia thread had Homeland Security and the NYPD's anti-Terrorism task force posting on it
Ummmm, why?
>>29624594
Judy a cute
>>29624591
>I recently got a lot of shit from people I know when they found out I'd been involved in drone strikes. Not only that but to me it was an exciting day at work was when we got to kill someone.
>I think people get too many ideas from movies that whenever a human dies you should feel some kind of anguish or guilt.
>>29624579
Just got to it. I didn't, but I was in that thread. Have to agree with OP. How do you feel? If you're like any other SO then I already know. Tell me Reaper, are you some hippie faggot?
>>29624536
Tbf the NRO probably has all the resolution it already needs. At some point does it really matter that much more? If you can read a license plate you can see a face, so at that point coverage area is DRASTICALLY more important. And if you are hungry for intel assets in 3rd world shitholes, but you don't need perfect resolution (you just need to be able to see cars coming and going, number of people, maybe if they are armed) and can do it with a swarm of small, cheap, microwave size satellites that can be chucked out the back of the air forces Space F150, then all the better.
If the Chinese only have missiles it could cost more to shoot down the satellite than it would cost to replace it, or at the least the debris cloud for blasting all of them would be a huge prohibitive factor.
>>29624640
I have no reservations about killing people anymore, especially Sunni Muslims.
>>29624640
Plus, all that stuff was written in past tense.
>>29624652
What DGS site you at, faggot?
>>29624701
I'm not DGS, I hate DGS. Last thing I need is some imagery analyst loser calling an Ak a "1 meter long cylindrical object" during a TIC.
>>29624716
Kek, legitimacy confirmed
What's your exact AFSC, Reap?
>>29624466
How many of them are memers?
>>29624716
The last person that responded to you was not me. 1N0 guy here. I for one, am actually at one of those dreaded locations. I'm sure I have an idea of where you are though. And for everyone in this thread, fuck 1N1s.
>>29623286
Aliens have a contract with the USA and no othercoumtries
>>29624735
1U, Q1U071 if you really care
>>29624735
Read the fucking thread dude. I already asked him.
>>29624716
As someone very familiar with MQ-1 and MQ-9 flight and ground software, AMA.
>>29624746
1N0s go to DGS? That is shitty.
>>29624746
>1N0
Briefer fag pls go
>>29624762
Why are there over 30 TO variations of Mq-9 software you cunt?
>>29624764
Tell me about it. Atleast the job is way better than the useless fags you have around you.
>>29624774
Lol k. You keep thinking that man. You're probably an angry bean counter.
>>29623369
>My guess is that their prowess in the black world mirrored their prowess in the white.
My dad was a materials scientist for the gubmunt in 80s. One day some spooks from the CIA came to his office and asked him to analyze a soviet listening device they found in an embassy building. It was a very simple design, but instead of off the shelf parts it was made of incredibly expensive custom components, like milled titanium BNC connectors and so forth.
He thinks one of the reason the Soviets went bankrupt is they literally spared no expense when it came to the military and espionage. They were planting platinum and gold spy gear on their enemies while crops rotted in the fields for want of roads, and Muscovites starved.
>>29624783
They are getting rid of the MICs again, sadly, They are more useful than DGS honestly. I pretty much chaffed DGS off after OIR started.
>>29624783
1N4, life is suffering
The only 1N0 I deal with gives autistic briefings.
>>29623755
But we do have LRCM lasers for missle defence on most all C17s. Trouble is they only work twords IR missles by burning the seeker head out. It's not Sifi tech just look at a picture and find the turrets on the cheeks and below the tail.
>>29623085
The air force has no 'black' projects when it comes to air frames. It's all electronics when it comes to air dominance these days.
>>29624781
Every fielded system release, regardless of hardware changes, has its own TO. The release process is annoying even to somebody who works there. I'd imagine there are WAY more than 30 if you count all the different variations for the USAF, DHS/CBP, exports, etc. I know AFSOC will have at least four variations in active service.
>>29624802
Really? That sucks. I always heard from SOs that MICs were useless. We do the same shit but more in depth. I guess that does not get passed to you guys. Welp, time to implement some change when I go in to work in an hour.
>>29624815
I'm sorry man. Are you suffering at a DGS also? 1N0s that only brief are missused. It's a right of passage thing for the airmen though.
>>29624839
For another year then I'm out.
Fuck the HOA.
>>29624833
Just give everyone the most current *cough* southside software *cough* that is compatible with all hardwares. P.S. minotaur compatibility was retarded. some squadrons shouldn't be 5+ years behind others due to contracts.
>>29624839
Another body to plot and battle track is infinitely more valuable than some dude with a degraded feed (compared to me) making conservative callouts on hostile targets. If DGS was an organic asset attached to each operational squadron my viewpoint might change but that will never happen. AFSOC tried it for a bit to great success but decided to revert for no good reason.
>>29624852
Out of the Air Force? Why dude, with the new rack and stack process, we can guarantee that only perfect Airmen get promoted! I'm so salty about so much shit that sometimes I feellike I can't have a conversation about today's AF without bitching. Can't make me drink the Kool Aid though... Good for you dude. I can't wait to PCS. If that ever happens.
SIGINTfag stuck doing DGS, I want out.
What's a cool AFSC and base to crosstrain into?
Ideally somewhere I could network with contractors worth a damn for an eventual civie job not tied to the GS payscale.
So whats the coolest and/or scariest rumored tech out there?
>>29624908
1U, easy six figure contractor job.
>>29624898
I couldn't agree more. it's fucking stupid that no one can see anything out here yet we're responsible for making sure we follow the rules. I need way more stripes to implement any change on all of this bullshit though. Hell, I probably need a Bird on my lapel atleast.
>>29624867
Wasn't aware that USAF deliberately held back versions; that doesn't seem safe. We give them pretty much everything that the Army didn't order, so that's not really on us. Minotaur isn't simulated so I never got much info about it, either.
If it's any consolation, I'm not a project manager.
>>29624926
Like I said amongst the USAF alone there are 34 different implementations of MQ-9 Hardware/software. It is ridiculous, and that is only for a single block of A/C. The MQ-9 has the largest TO of any aircraft ever fielded.
>>29624917
Any cool OCONUS TDY opportunities?
Welp, gotta get ready for work. Peace out Reaper and 1N4 broskis. Gonna put in work. I'm sure something like this will come up again. Until then. Peace.
>>29624986
Deployments galore for both active (squadron dependent) and contractor. You just need 500 flight hours as active to deploy.
>>29624939
When I got hired, the first thing handed to me was the 904.6.0 TO. Ain't light reading.
As someone who flies the plane in simulation every day, I really don't think the TO needs to be that long. When we do our internal system tests, going through the entire TO can take hours for someone who hasn't gotten it down to routine.
Part of the problem is that USAF has an ongoing laundry list of change requests; rolling releases end up creating a huge list of slightly different systems, even though there are only two real blocks of MQ-9.
>>29624988
Good bye DGS person, don't suck.
>>29625010
luv u
>>29624995
>904.6.0
Ancient by now. Honestly I could stand to have the TO a little longer myself since it doesn't even have all the warnings/cautions, and errors that can appear with the aircraft, which is another problem I have with the relationship between GA and raytheon. If I took the green door tour I was offered I probably could have at least partially alleviated these issues...
>>29624995
Also without giving up too much info, what exactly are you? it seems like mid-high level GA with atleast 3-4 years in the company.
>>29623085
Do they have anything that flares up like a star when it moves, and operates above atmosphere? I saw a star flare up as bright as Venus and start moving, then another one flared up and followed it. The light was white, and left no trails, and the craft moved slowly at first and picked up speed and faded away. By the time they faded they were moving about as fast as a satellite, which is like 17000 mph, in about 10 seconds. A human couldn't do that.
It looked a whole lot like an iridium flare, except those are moving all the time, what with being satellites and all.
>>29623167
Only reason to have shuttle is to deliver physical stuff from orbit to Earth. What can this mission be? Ayy lmao...
>>29625026
Yeah, that's some old shit now; the version minor for that branch is up to 22 now I believe. Also, that's pretty appalling. It's very easy to get a complete list of every possible warning on our side (hell, a lot of what I do is writing systems to make those warnings appear or go away, for training); missing some can only be deliberate...
>>29625038
Software engineer, under 2 years. Since I work on the proprietary air vehicle simulator, I've worked on almost every project and get a fairly broad view of what's going on, so it feels like a higher position than it is.
>>29625074
This was satellite reflecting light or correcting orbit by engine.
>>29625111
Most of the missing issues are MTS/Raytheon stuff that isn't incorporated into the TO. They only have about 10 MTS warnings in the TO but there are 40+ in real life. I thought you said 904.2 for a second so you aren't terribly behind. Really the Raytheon/GA coordination needs to increase.
>>29624795
>while crops rotted in the fields for want of roads, and Muscovites starved
As someone who grew up in the USSR, this is blatantly false. None of that was an issue (at least after Stalin), roads were fine, crops were fine, and we definitely didn't starve.
>They literally spared no expense when it came to the military and espionage.
This too. We cut corners like a mother fucker, you should have seen the state of our equipment. We were still using beat ass Tokarevs in the late 70's.
>>29625144
>Raytheon/GA coordination
I've heard stories. Including one specifically about the issue you're describing. I don't know why it's so hostile.
>>29625131
Sure thing.
>>29623085
The big one is space energy. A single one mile mess blanket generates 100 planets worth of energy.
Getting that energy to the surface of a spinning planet was the hard part.
Well fuckers, I just figured it out.
>>29625173
Probably because GA are a bunch of cunts at the decision level.
Why hasn't the air force officially announced the stealth hawk?
And am I the only one who thinks that the B-2 and the F-117 were in service long before they were revelad?
Also, why do we know that the F35 exists?
Why isn't it classified like other planes
>>29625200
Welp, doesn't surprise me. Most of our projects are somewhat mismanaged, with some exceptions like LOH.
By the way, I've seen some recent revisions for the blk50 GCS. It was made by committee, and it looks exactly as it was made. Hopefully they manage to not be outdone by the existing system. With a 1 Hz tracker written by an old racist coot in 1994 and an interface on the HDDs that one could charitably describe as "fiddly", you might like know that it CAN get worse still.
https://www.youtube.com/results?q=Edgar+Fouche
captcha WATER LANDING
>>29625295
>Us ever getting the block 50
How much do you make if you don't mind me asking? Not that I would live in Cali.
>>29625339
>block 50
I'm not holding my breath either. Every time it starts to look like it's going to actually get somewhere, it goes back into project management hell. Glad I'm not working block 50.
71k
>>29625368
Meh, I'll make more deployed. Sadly I won't be able to satisfy my bloodlust anymore.
SB-3 Ghoul
>>29624617
Who could blame them?
>>29624490
>fingerpRainting
Nice touch, I like it.
>>29623167
Ion Engines are low thrust as fuck.
>>29626809
For real though, they only start to make sense out of atmo for distance trips.
i.e, extra-orbital
>>29626839
Not necessarily.
Super high specific impulse lends itself for long-duration flights on a vehicle that has to change its orbit a lot, which for all we know is part of the X-37's mission.
Could have tagged the entire BeiDou network for all we know.
>>29625213
The f-35 involves some 3,000 engineers alone, and we are buying over a thousand of the,. It's too big a program to keep secret.
We bought 20 B2s. That you can keep secret.
>>29625101
Other way around. It lets the Air Force have a cheap trucks it's what the space shuttle was meant to be before mission bloat happened at NASA.
>>29626809
If they made a breakthrough of some kind it could be pretty revolutionary.
>>29626578
Unfortunately I didn't do it on purpose. Damn touch screen keyboard.
>>29626884
x-37 is not a launch vehicle
It's the payload for a normal rocket, which'll cost them 200+ million each launch.
Really it has no purpose at all, and the space shuttle was never going to be cheap, not even in the basic design.
>>29626931
Aim of space-x and other endeavors is to get the cost of getting something to orbit to ~$1000/lb
If we believe that the stats given on the X-37B that it weighs around 11,000lb, thats not $200m per launch, friendo.
>>29626949
It's not spacex launching the X-37's
It's ULA on the Atlas V's
But maybe it's only 100 million
>>29623167
Ion engines are low thrust but have extremely high fuel efficiency.
The most likely intended purpose is for station-keeping needs.
>>29626967
For the time being.
>>29625389
If you're stationed where I think you're stationed then we may have met in person.
>>29626921
How do you make a breakthrough with ions repulsing each other?
>>29627024
Making them produce ions more efficiently?
Make them cheaper?
If they are testing them then clearly they have an idea of a sort
I never got this. Kelly Johnson, along with skunk works, helped develop the SR-71 and U2 way back in the 50s. Hell we are still using the U2. Is that all we could do?
You're telling me these planes that were made fifty years after the first aircraft are all we can do and the last fifty years we couldn't make a plane that made the SR-71 look like a biplane?
"Well they're keeping it a secret"
Because a bomber that can't be seen dropping nukes all over the place like the B2 is okay to disclose.
Also, what do you think about Kelly Johnson's, supposed, disclosure to a close friend that the things being worked on in black projects are straight out of Star Wars? This was back in the 80s as well.
>>29627066
But anon, we did.
"Satellites"
>>29627099
The limitations of reconnaissance satellites, which take up to 24 hours to arrive in the proper orbit to photograph a particular target, makes them slower to respond to demand than reconnaissance planes. The fly-over orbit of spy satellites may also be predicted and can allow assets to be hidden when the satellite is above, a drawback not shared by aircraft.
>>29627066
Average Joe will never find any of this out. Why?
A. He doesn't have the TS clearance
B. Even if he does, he doesn't NEED to KNOW.
>>29627184
I'm paying for it so yeah I need to know what my money is being wasted on.
Unless they're reverse engineering alien spaceships then the whole area is a big money pit.
During that 80s and 90s we spent all this money so we could test the F22 there...a plane we cancelled.
Great fucking use of funds USAF.
>>29627294
>I'm paying for it so yeah I need to know what my money is being wasted on.
lmao
>>29624490
Or you could just get space pirates.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-space-pirates-of-world-war-iii
>>29627303
The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them. - Patrick Henry
We can also ignore Madison and all the other Founders who said that's a very bad idea.
I'm sure you're fine with your money being taken and thrown at something you can't know because "you're too stupid". That and the possible health effects that you can't know about because you're an idiot.
Remember the lawsuit in the 90s? A bunch of contractors at Area 51 said they were exposed to things and got sick. What did the government do? They demanded special treatment and refused to disclose any information. The judge in the case said "tuff shit" so Clinton stepped in and said they didn't have to do it issuing a presidential determination.
That's not how things work in a representative republic.
>>29624746
1N1 here, don't be jealous man. I know your job sucks. Don't take it out on us.
>>29627059
There's a maximum throughput, though, before you get vacuum arcing between the grids. The more ions you pack in, the more they repulse each other. You're mass flow limited by the voltage difference and you can't increase voltage indefinitely because vacuum arcing.
>>29626949
>Aim of space-x and other endeavors is to get the cost of getting something to orbit to ~$1000/lb
X-37 IS NOT A LAUNCH VECHILE. It is PAYLOAD for a rocket. Do you have cheap rocket? Fine. You can put satellite on top of rocket and launch without any stinking X-37. Even better, without dead weight of X-37 you may launch heavier stattelite or launch two. There is no need in X-37 for any mission.
Except missions requiring retriving payload from orbit (like retrieving nukes from orbit from weaponed satellites after end of their service life or retrieving packages send by ayy lmaos).
>>29627499
Even retrieving payloads is better off with a retarded fucking spaceplane
Everything about a spaceplane is shit
It's' not even manned
>>29625162
Well then why did the USSR dissolve? What propaganda do they teach in Russian schools?
>>29627711
>Well then why did the USSR dissolve?
Well we did go bankrupt, but the ultimate trigger was the attempted coup and the republics trying to break away. And I'm not saying we didn't go bankrupt, at least in part, by spending so much on our military, but it wasn't because we spared no expense, it was because we spent more than we could afford. Sparing no expense implies spending money to have high quality, which we sure as shit didn't do. Hence the using old and/or defective shit for years, both in training and actual service. And my main point was we weren't starving by any means, our roads were fine (good luck owning a car though), and the crops weren't rotting. This is actual propaganda, and it is false. Frankly, I don't even know where this comes from other than Stalin-era shit.
>inb4 Soviet immigrants
They love to exaggerate to get sympathy, and to be fair, other republics were worse off than Russia. But no one was starving, and the crops were fine regardless.
>What propaganda do they teach in Russian schools?
I'm going to assume this isn't a veiled insult and give a proper answer. ALL SORTS OF SHIT. I've been out of Russian schools for a while, but back in the Soviet days it was ridiculous. Most of it wasn't really bad, basically the same my kids get here in the US. But my favourite piece was about the Cuban Missile Crisis. We were taught that the Americans were blockading Cuba to prevent us from giving them agricultural supplies, and that that was the entire issue. They mentioned very briefly and minorly the nukes.
>>29624795
would a device big enough to have BNCs be hidden or disguised?
Also, how much clearer would it be with materials of that standard?
Reaper seems like a cool guy, but he's still a penguin.
Sorry bruh
>>29627440
sitting in a dark room overlaying pictures all day and starting to vape just to get an excuse to see sunlight? no one's jealous and you're all weird and the CFP fucks all your females
>>29627294
>I pay .00000000000000000000001% of your budget, I deserve to know everything
cuck
>>29624701
>5 years at dgs-1
fuck dcgs
>>29627499
What are you smoking, exactly?
>>29627170
But what if you could have a bunch of smaller satellites that are harder to detect, or are so numerous that coverage is much more frequent?
Durians can't tell sats are there.
I do see what you are getting at though, I think the Air Force made drones for that?
Or maybe they just have secret squirrel black planes they don't tell anyone about, much better to let society shitpost about the F35 while the real stealth projects are kept innadark
>>29627539
Dunno about X-37 retrieval weight. Shuttle could return 14000 kg or 17% of empty weight. Russian Soyz can retrieve 500 kg or 6% of empty weight. Space plane doesn't look bad at all.
Also secrecy. Mission with X-37 is completely concealed when launching satellite with retrieval capsule reveals that mission is about returning payload from orbit.
>>29623167
As I understand it the X-37B is a prototype of an 'on demand' satellite replacement system. So if things go tits-up with China and they shoot down some of our satellites, we can replace them with the X-37B in short order. As mentioned, the ion drive would allow the X-37B to hold its orbital position for a long period of time without running out of fuel.
>>29627066
>we couldn't make a plane that made the SR-71 look like a biplane?
Hypersonic aircraft flight is impossible to hide from satteleteis even at night. Secret stealth recon planes/UAVs could exist. I think there are plenty of them.
>>29628365
>we can replace them with the X-37B in short order.
You don't need X-37 to launch satellite you need Atlas rocket.
>>29628394
>Secret stealth recon planes/UAVs could exist. I think there are plenty of them.
My hunch is that the YF-23 was at least somewhat related to a such an aircraft, or at least the development program for one.
All of the design peculiarities of the YF-23, such as that small ventral weapons bay, the lack of turn performance, and the much higher supercruise speed/range that it had compared to the YF-22 makes a lot more sense if it was somehow tied into a program to build a sort of "stealth RA-5".
Basically, the YF-23's "weapons bay" had "Q-bay" written all over it, and if you were to slap a supercruise-optimized delta wing on it you'd have one hell of a spyplane. It wouldn't fly as high or as fast as the SR-71 did, but with stealth and R suppression, it wouldn't have to, and honestly the only thing that could give away its position would be its acoustic signature.
That's my hunch at least. There are also rumors that there was a lot more to the Convair Kingfish program than has been acknowledged.
Was monitoring adsbexchange and saw 3 signals displaying only altitude info (rangingbfrom 85I to 120K') I've seen U2s displayed before but nothing this high.
>>29628471
>85-120k
That sounds exactly like something I've heard of before...
>>29624097
I'm pretty sure there's no beavers in Burma famm
>>29624566
Bwwwaaaaatt?
by all branches do you mean like, even marines and shit?
Jokes aside balloons use is very widespread. US launched tens of thousands recon balloons into USSR territory during Cold War.
>>29628560
ESPECIALLY the USMC.
Google the USMC SUSTAIN concept. It's some Heinlein/Cameron-tier shit
>>29623815
Anything you can share with us about F/A-XX?
>>29623167
ion engines = longer on-station (position) time
>>29628634
Holy fuck space marines when?
>>29628049
You must love waste. People like you are the reason the F35 is such a dumpster fire.
>>29628805
There are also rumors that SUSTAIN is related to whatever inspired the old Blackstar story
>>29628560
>inb4 tinfoil tier "Off-planet officers" list
>>29623815
>I know my stuff, but wanted to get a discussion going, and it's pretty clear to me from that post that you know your stuff as well.
It's pretty clear to me from his post that he doesn't have a clue what he's going on about.
>>29628890
>sustain
>blackstar
What are these?
>>29628442
There's also rumors of dubious truth that whatever crashed in england in the 90s looked like a YF-23 with extra seekrit squirrel shit bolted onto it.
>>29630594
Spaceplanes, my friend
Spaceplanes.
You didn't REALLY think that the USAF walked away from their multibillion dollar investment in SLC-6 at Vandenberg and the plan to have Discovery permanently based there without having a replacement, now did you?
>>29630623
Considering that the SR-71 was reactivated shortly after that alleged incident, it was definitely SOMETHING along those lines
>>29628560
the first space marine was John Glenn in 1962 unless NACA did something more secret
>>29624097
>afgan carpet weaving collective
>>29628634
>Mariiiines in Spaaaaace!
>>29628442
That'd actually make a really fun symmetry with the SR-71. Its first incarnation was as a Mach 3+ interceptor carrying internal bays for the AIM-47 Falcon.
What do I personally think the secret squirrel guys are up to?
>MARAUDER plasma weapons, a promising program that suddenly "vanished" in the early '90s
>advanced/alternative fuels: all that work on borated fuels for the XB-70/XF-109/BOMARC didn't just vanish, and stuff like slush hydrogen is a possibility too
>I don't believe for a second that the Avenger II program was fully canned, more like moved under the F/A-XX banner
>>29632533
No program like that is ever canned, its all moved forword
>>29630761
You mean NASA. NACA was dissolved in the 50's.
>>29632533
>Its first incarnation was as a Mach 3+ interceptor carrying internal bays for the AIM-47 Falcon.
Its first incarnation was the A-12, which became the YF-12. The A-12 was unarmed.
>>29627875
Quick question- why did the USSR import so much grain from Canada in the 70s and 80s? It was enough to be a political issue here in western Canada (though a minor one) because of the Wheat Board.
>>29624627
>I think people get too many ideas from movies that whenever a human dies you should feel some kind of anguish or guilt.
If a greenie pukes after killing someone, it isn't out of disgust, it's just a stress reaction.
Most people will never understand.
>>29633782
"The press has made U.S. grain exports to the Soviet Union the most highly publicized international sales agreement in human history. Western Europe annually imports far more grain than does the USSR, yet no one in the U.S. media or government accuses West Germany or Benilux countries of being unable to feed their people. In contrast, every Soviet grain deal with the United States is front page news, a reminder to the American public of the allegedly superior productivity of U.S. agribusiness and the failure of collectivism. The truth is something else.
Today the Soviets produce more than enough grain to feed their people. They import foreign grain to help feed their livestock and thereby increase their meat and dairy consumption. (This is seen in both the East and West as an "improved" diet, even though there is evidence suggesting that a high meat and dairy intake is not necessarily the best diet.) It takes between seven and fourteen pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat. And that is the cause of the Soviet "grain shortage." In actuality, per capita meat consumption in the USSR has doubled in the last two decades and exceeds such countries as Norway, Italy, Greece, Spain, Japan, and Israel. Milk production has jumped almost 60 percent in twenty years so that today the USSR is by far the largest milk-producing country in the world.
According to the 1982 CIA report on the Soviet economy "The Soviet Union remains basically self-sufficient with respect to food." These are the accomplishments of an agrarian labor force that decreased from 42 percent in 1960 to 20 percent in 1980, working in a country where over 90 percent of the land is either too arid or too frigid to be farmed. Still, the press continues to tell the American public that the Soviet system cannot feed its people."
Inventing Reality: The Politics of the Mass Media
My point remains. No one was starving, no crops were rotting, and the roads were fine.
>inb4- US
Point still stands.
Well, the new bomber plan has been floating around for something like 10 years. Its very possible the prototypes or competing designs have been fully flown and tested.
There's got to be some sort of space based platform, be it Rods from God or or something else.
Fabled TR-3B and all other variants with similar nomenclature, maybe based off captured alien technology. More likely just tech demonstrators and proofs of concept, possibly the SR-71s replacement.
Directed energy weapons are a big deal. Not only on gunships and other modified transports, but something that can be tucked into a fighter. I remember reading about a general saying it would be able to be fielded by 2019, but I think around 2030 we could actually see a laser replace Vulcan cannons.
I have a feeling that the F-117 flights aren't exactly testing new technology, but actually more of an aggressor type flight. Stealh and low observability is proliferating quickly, and USAF crews need to be ready for it.
F/A-XX was a Navy only platform I thought? Only to replace Super Hornets. USAF might take interest, but depending on how F-35 pans out, DoD might actually want to diversify again.
There is always the less exciting stuff too. Small props not marked as USAF but packed full of electronic equipment. Perfect for espionage, or jamming.
The only thing I haven't ever seen anything on is USAF jamming capabilities. Does anyone really believe the Air Force relies on the Navy and Marines' Growlers and Prowlers? I figure the "standard" ECM capabilities on the USAF frontline fleet have to be incredible, so much so that they don't have a need for a dedicated electronic warfare platform like a Growler.
>>29633782
>Ignoring statements and trying to trip someone up instead
You already lost mate. You're trying to claim Soviet citizens were starving, but you've provided literally no evidence. You say grain imports, but that doesn't tell shit without context, and it isn't evidence of starvation regardless. Please show me where Soviets were starving. I'll be waiting.
>>29624164
For now, yes.
>>29634042
>>29634104
My apologies- I should have noted that I wasn't the other guy. I just remembered something from my childhood out west in Canada. I wanted to know what folks on the other side of the curtain knew about it at the time.
I remember that Trudeau took a lot of heat out west for the exports. That was mainly internal political issues.
Again, I didn't mean to stir things up. I just realized I could get some answers to an old thing that puzzled me.
>>29634188
So I see, no harm done. I'm about to go to bed, but if you have other questions and the thread is still up tomorrow, I'll gladly answer them as best I can.
>>29632685
>dissolved
Right.
>>29632533
>advanced/alternative fuels: all that work on borated fuels for the XB-70/XF-109/BOMARC didn't just vanish
No, my friend. No, it most certainly did not.
There's a reason why there has been an uptick in "green meteor" sightings over the past 2-3 years.
It's exciting stuff indeed. Makes me wish I worked for whichever agency or contractor operates her...
>>29634101
>Well, the new bomber plan has been floating around for something like 10 years. Its very possible the prototypes or competing designs have been fully flown and tested.
It's unofficially acknowledged that there was a secret flyoff between technology demonstrator aircraft for the B-21 program that took place from late 2013 until last year. Supposedly, it was one of those demonstrators that was seen over Amarillo in March of 2014.
>There's got to be some sort of space based platform, be it Rods from God or or something else.
I'll bet that some of those "NRO" launches weren't really NRO payloads.
I also think there was more than a little truth to AvWeek's story about the air-launched "blackstar" spaceplane.
>Directed energy weapons are a big deal.
Oh yes they are. We'll see some really interesting stuff come white before 2020.
>I have a feeling that the F-117 flights aren't exactly testing new technology, but actually more of an aggressor type flight. Stealh and low observability is proliferating quickly, and USAF crews need to be ready for it.
I could see that.
>There is always the less exciting stuff too. Small props not marked as USAF but packed full of electronic equipment. Perfect for espionage, or jamming.
Subsystems, too
>The only thing I haven't ever seen anything on is USAF jamming capabilities. Does anyone really believe the Air Force relies on the Navy and Marines' Growlers and Prowlers? I figure the "standard" ECM capabilities on the USAF frontline fleet have to be incredible, so much so that they don't have a need for a dedicated electronic warfare platform like a Growler.
Google the P-AEA. Supposedly the USAF has a secret platform that's like a stealth growler on steroids, that they have alluded to in a couple documents. It may or may not manned. The F-35 is also rumored to be a Growler-tier jamming asset thanks to all the cool things its AESA can do.
>>29632533
If you want to go down an interesting rabbithole, look at the aircraft that lost to the A-12 for the initial CIA contact to replace the U-2s.
The YF-22 wasn't the first Lockheed product to win a competition against a much more advanced aircraft.
Which makes it that much more interesting when you look some of the "loser"s incredibly advanced features, and look at how far along the "loser" got in development and think of how much longevity it's design might have had with continual upgrades, better skins, etc.
Now, remember that the CIA retired the A-12 with no clear replacement in 1968.
Finally, go to dreamlandresort and read the story of the "fastmover" sighting from the 1990s. Then, read the description of the North Sea sighting from the late 80s.
>>29635048
The replacement for the A-12 was the SR-71, which was a direct development of the A-12. Convair's Archangel or whatever it was called was a very interesting design, but it had a few flaws and was seen as a riskier bet compared to the A-12.
I think you're seeing black projects where there are none.
>>29623286
The chinese just put all their research into copying stuff from other nations and figuring how how to make it more of it for cheaper.
It's gotten them pretty far, though
>>29635086
The A-12 had a VERY different camera system than the SR-71, and was clearly aimed at a very specific mission compared to the versatility that the SR-71 offered. And the KH-11 didn't go primetime until the late 70s, leaving the CIA with a 10-year gap in which they lacked an on-demand asset capable of returning high-resolution imagery from hostile airspace.
Also, remember that the CIA chose Archangel over the Convair Kingfish design BEFORE Gary Powers was shot down. Had they known how good the SA-2 was beforehand, they might not have chosen the simpler, less-risky "pure speed" design.
And they certainly wouldn't have given up the A-12 and punted flying ISR work to the USAF without having something better. This was the same time that the NRO was launching the first of the Greyhound bus-sized KH-9 Hexagon satellites. Their budget for ISR assets was more or less unlimited.
>>29623085
I've been reading about the SR72 proposal. That would be dankest shit if it were ever made.
>>29635156
>Kingfish
Thanks, I forgot what it was called.
>>29635134
>The chinese just put all their research into copying stuff from other nations and figuring how how to make it more of it for cheaper.
Why start from scratch when you can just steal shit?
DAILY REMINDER THAT THE GLOMAR EXPLORER'S TRUE PURPOSE WAS NOT TO SALVAGE THE SUB
IT WAS TO INSTALL A SECRET UNDERWATER MISSLE SILO
at least that's what I want to believe. It's the perfect plan: have a cover story involving manganese nodules, but then have the rasing of the sub be ANOTHER cover story!
>>29635234
I also think we salvaged ALL of that sub
>>29635247
I swear some of the sunken sub stories are spoopy beyond beleif
Scorpion, Dakar, K-129...
Plus the theories all sound plausible - I really don't know who to believe
Like, imagine what we don't know. Remember Ivy Bells? The secret nuclear subs to tap Soviet cables?
That was found out because of a nsa employee selling out. He was released from jail last year btw
Imagine what we don't know, because no one like him ever spilled the beans?
>>29635247
Or at least more than they let on. Despite saying they got a small part of the bow, the CIA eventually returned the ship's bell to Russia in the 90's. Which mean they got the conning tower.
>>29635315
1967 was a strange time. Apparently there's an agreement between Russia and US military staff not to rock the boat on the K-129 and Scorpion sinkings- things happened. More than what's let on.
My favorite sub story-
>Fuel in a missile blows in K-219, off coast of US
>ship is lost with 33 nuclear missiles, Soviets dispatch sonar ship to check the wreck out
>when they get there months later, several hatches have been forced open, missiles are gone
>>29634042
Does western Europe really have breadbasket areas like the United States and Soviet Union?
>>29635345
>the K-219 middle story
Meanwhile, USS Parche becomes the most decorated vessel in US Navy history during that same time period, all for stuff that they won't acknowledge.
Very spooky indeed...
What I'm curious about though is what the Soviets/Russians were and still are using the X-Ray, Paltus, and Losharik classes for. The US has really only had 1-2 "special purpose" subs at any given time, and by all accounts the Halibut, Parche, and Jimmy Carter are basically glorified ROV carriers that otherwise are no different from their more conventional classmates.
Meanwhile, the Soviets/Russians built carrier vehicles out of Yankee and Delta class boomers, only in this case, what they're carrying are 150-200" long-endurance nuclear powered deep divers. The Losharik class allegedly has a depth rating closer to Alvin or the Mir class submersibles than that of a military boat.
And the Russians always have 2-4 of these little boats active at a time.
They're up to some spooky shit, and I'd imagine that if/when the truth comes out, it'll be something as James Bond-ian as Azorian/Jennifer was.
Something like fixed seafloor missile bases and continuation of government facilities assessable only with these tiny nuke boats or something similar.
>>29635179
Lockheed has had a knack lately for putting out "press releases" about "concepts" like their fusion reactor or the SR-72 that are only "a couple years from reality" given the right external funding.
I'm convinced that this is their way of acknowledging some of their more exotic but extremely similar COMPLETED black projects to give their stocks a justified boost without violating the terms of their NDA's to the letter.
AKA: the Fusion reactor, or something close to it already works, and something similar to the SR-72 or the HTV Falcon has already flown.
>>29635315
>>29635345
I would love to know what was actually going down in 1967.
I'll bet that someday we'll find out that we came closer to WWIII in 1967 than we did with the Cuban missile crisis, but the whole chain of events was classified.
There's a reason why the CIA wanted that specific sunken boat from 1967 so badly.
>>29624137
nope, try again friendo.
>>29637092
Let me guess: there's been a flyoff at China Lake between a Boeing bird, which is related to that pilotless stealth-ified F-18 that was seen at the Davis-Monathan boneyard, and some Northrop-Grumman bird that we haven't yet seen.
>>29637118
I think he's just calling you wrong for thinking the f-35 is a replacement for the super hornet, which it isn't.
>>29637126
That wasn't me, haha, but the F-35C might be replacing the F/A-18A, but that's it.
>>29637152
Well sorry for the confusion. But I said super hornet for a reason, the f-35 is definitely intended to replace the regular hornets in naval service. How long that takes is a different matter.
>>29623167
shooting down satelittes obviously. what other reason would they have a fighter jet in space for
>>29637167
And I would imagine the Rhinos will be around for a while, taking over more the roles currently flown by the original hornets (or even becoming the new A-6/E-6) while F/A-XX takes over fleet defense and air dominance.
>>29637068
>AKA: the Fusion reactor, or something close to it already works
Jesus, if this were the case the US would be using it to say "FUCK YOU MIDDLE EAST AND RUSSIA WE DON'T NEED YOU NO MORE".
>>29637068
a fucking fusion reactor propulsion system.
CL1201 when?
for scale, those small little jets are starfighters iirc
>>29637188
We don't need them for the actual oil, we need them around to be our bitches.
>>29637188
?
US is self-sufficient on oil
For the guys thinking that F/A-XX is in progress, it's still the early days; the USAF's F-X / NGAD program is meant to be a sister program to F/A-XX (and there's *some* potential for it to become a joint program). However, the USAF is still only in conceptual development.
Could their be tech demo aircraft testing specific technologies for these new fighters? Sure.
Are there F/A-XX / F-X prototypes (like the YF-22 or YF-23) flying around? Very unlikely; not for about another 5 years.
>>29637201
Look at how Saudi chimped out over shale oil, and what they're trying to do now to kill the new US/Canada/Russia oik production.
Now, imagine what they would do in response to fusion popping up out of the blue.
For that matter, think of what fusion does to the US coal industry and the millions of jobs that it creates.
We'll get it, eventually. But they'll ease the world economy into it because of how disruptive it is.
>>29637263
I'm not sure about that; it would be completely within Lockheed's interests to release fusion almost as soon as it achieved it - just think of the profits you'd attain from such a thing. Lockheed would go from being a $50 billion giant to a $500 billion leviathan almost overnight.
>>29637263
whats with this fucking retard meme of blaming the oil prices on the saudis?
US doubles their oil production, ends the embargo on Iran so they can pump too
But it's all the saudis fault right?
>>29623085
Keep up the good work brother, #ALLAHUACKBAR.
>>29637263
>>29637297
wouldn't fusion power mean that uranium/fissile material mining would fucking explode, and we would re-fuck up all the areas we destroyed in the 50s?
I don't think we have that much uranium ore left anyway.
>>29637314
uranium is fission
fusion is hydrogen
>>29637051
>They're up to some spooky shit
Communication cables. Snooping and setting cut charges for D-Day.
>>29637314
See >>29637327
Besides that though, there's plenty of uranium; and if we needed more, Australia and Canada are sitting on fucktons of the stuff.
>>29637327
always got that confused, I'm too used to fission nukes.
>>29637333
really? fucking cool.
>>29637297
This, being a profit focused company first and foremost Lockheed and Martin will destroy and destabilise the middle easts economy if it gives them a net benefit.
The profits to be realised from being able to implement a fusion reactor stand to be enormous, they won't wait for anybody if they get it working.
>>29637340
first generation of nukes used fission as the primary reaction, the second generation (thermonuclear) used fusion as the primary reaction with a fission reaction as the starter explosion. Gives orders of magnitude increases in yield. i.e Kiloton bombs into megaton bombs.
>>29637342
The only thing that could prevent Lockheed is if the gov found out and there were energy lobbyists that demanded that progress be slowed. That said, Lockheed is pretty powerful politically, so they'd stand a good chance of fighting any opponents (not to mention, if you have fusion under your belt, you could practically buy out any politician with an offer of some stocks).
>>29637357
For bombs sure, but fusion as done in a reactor has to be far more controlled and tame.
Man as a citizen of a small European nation reading and googling all this has me kinda scared. Don't know if the world could wrangle you to the ground should USA Inc. try to go for total domination.
>>29637371
You are on the money mate, Lockheed isn't a political small fry thats going to find some unfavourable regulations passed against it.
Especially not when they have the opportunity to employ the politicians after the leave office who ensured such unjust laws didn't pass as strategic political consultants on 7 figure salaries + stock options.
>>29637306
Because everyone has been conditioned into doing it by the people really in the know since 2001.
>>29623085
>so let's talk black projects.
ok
>what can you tel me?
nothing :)
>what nothing at all?
I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of toys in the USAF inventory.
>>29627875
A sensible Russian.
>>29637188
Yeah, too many environmental whackos in government who shit their panties at the thought of nuclear power and too many other decision-makers bought off by the Saudis and other oil Arabs.
>>29630642
As someone on VAFB learning space stuff, please explain
>>29639468
There's a persistent rumor that there was a major, multi-contactor program begun after Challenger, with the goal being to design and field a functional two-stage-to-orbit system consisting of a supersonic carrier aircraft the size of a Tu-160 or an XB-70 launching a spaceplane about half again as large as the X-15.
There were multiple patents of similar systems filed by the big contractors all around that 1988-1992 time period.
Supposedly it was built at Groom in the early 90s and first flew around 1992 or so, where it was responsible for the LA sky quakes.
Some sources suggest it was cancelled by Clinton after it was clear the USSR wasn't a threat (and replaced by the X-37B as a lower cost, more versatile space vehicle).
Other sources suggest the mission merely evolved to prompt global strike or something similar, possibly using the mothership to launch different space vehicles.
