Lockheed's Skunk Works Confirms It's Their Bird

[bouncing betty]

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Sat Pic Offers Enticing Shot Of What May Be Secret Lockheed Drone

By Colin Clark

Published: June 18, 2012

UPDATED: Lockheed's Skunk Works Confirms It's Their Bird (Tuesday 1 p.m.)




OK. Let's get this out in the open. Neither you nor I are likely to learn the truth about the image of that thing that might be a plane under the white covering.

But there's this website called Open Source Geoint and it has published a satellite image of one of the most secret defense plants in the country, the Air Force's Plant 42, where a handful of the top defense companies build some of the country's most highly classified aircraft and sensors.

For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the AOL Defense newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.


Plant 42 houses highly classified facilities where a number of contractors, including, most famously, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, do work for the military and the intelligence community. The Skunk Works is where the U-2 spy plane and the F-117 stealth fighter were built.

The image in the satellite photo may, or may not, show the outlines of a previously unknown aircraft. My colleague Dave Majumdar, who writes Flight Global's the Dew Line, speculates that this aircraft "looks a lot like a RQ-170, but bigger..." He postulates that it may be a P.420, a larger plane than the so-called Beast of Kandahar. [Note to those who wonder why we build things like the RQ-170. It was able to provide important help to the team that killed Osama Bin Laden without being detected by Pakistani radar.]

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, remarkably, issued a statement:

"Lockheed Martin Skunk Works often experiments with different shapes and materials for both manned and unmanned vehicles. What you see in the satellite image is one of those projects," said Melissa Dalton, their spokeswoman.

Dalton declined to identify the aircraft pictured, saying the "details are proprietary."

Dave, who is a bit obsessed with planes -- in a good way -- found a patent for a plane that might look like whatever is under the white protective covering in the photo. Or perhaps it's a modified RQ-170 being outfitted for more Iranian surveillance. Or maybe it's -- oh, never mind.

If you know what this image actually shows, you know how to reach us.

Now, cue spooky music from The X Files. And remember: the truth is out there. [But we'll probably never know it!]


If it were IRAN or North Korea it would be a NON-NEWS STORY because we'd KNOW that there were only pieces of plywood under the cover. But with the U.S.A. it's a given that we are just doing our ' BIGGER AND BETTER' thing. Who knows, maybe it's the new 'Beast of Islamabad'.

[PointBlank]

i don't like the name "beast of islamabad" , how about "feast in islamabad"?
BTW i think i saw tht type of airframe drone somewhere isnt it the 1 which Iran captured?
its name is RQ-170 sentinal

[bouncing betty]

...what: isnt it the 1 which Iran captured? its name is RQ-170 sentinal...

Even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes. A 'nut' they'll never crack. Besides, that was last years model. We NEVER stop !!

[Icewolf]

Hey can you give me google search link where you found this artucle?

how about "feast in islamabad"?

don't ruin his ego

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Sat Pic Offers Enticing Shot Of What May Be Secret Lockheed Drone

By Colin Clark

Published: June 18, 2012

UPDATED: Lockheed's Skunk Works Confirms It's Their Bird (Tuesday 1 p.m.)




OK. Let's get this out in the open. Neither you nor I are likely to learn the truth about the image of that thing that might be a plane under the white covering.

But there's this website called Open Source Geoint and it has published a satellite image of one of the most secret defense plants in the country, the Air Force's Plant 42, where a handful of the top defense companies build some of the country's most highly classified aircraft and sensors.

For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the AOL Defense newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.


Plant 42 houses highly classified facilities where a number of contractors, including, most famously, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, do work for the military and the intelligence community. The Skunk Works is where the U-2 spy plane and the F-117 stealth fighter were built.

The image in the satellite photo may, or may not, show the outlines of a previously unknown aircraft. My colleague Dave Majumdar, who writes Flight Global's the Dew Line, speculates that this aircraft "looks a lot like a RQ-170, but bigger..." He postulates that it may be a P.420, a larger plane than the so-called Beast of Kandahar. [Note to those who wonder why we build things like the RQ-170. It was able to provide important help to the team that killed Osama Bin Laden without being detected by Pakistani radar.]

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, remarkably, issued a statement:

"Lockheed Martin Skunk Works often experiments with different shapes and materials for both manned and unmanned vehicles. What you see in the satellite image is one of those projects," said Melissa Dalton, their spokeswoman.

Dalton declined to identify the aircraft pictured, saying the "details are proprietary."

Dave, who is a bit obsessed with planes -- in a good way -- found a patent for a plane that might look like whatever is under the white protective covering in the photo. Or perhaps it's a modified RQ-170 being outfitted for more Iranian surveillance. Or maybe it's -- oh, never mind.

If you know what this image actually shows, you know how to reach us.

Now, cue spooky music from The X Files. And remember: the truth is out there. [But we'll probably never know it!]


If it were IRAN or North Korea it would be a NON-NEWS STORY because we'd KNOW that there were only pieces of plywood under the cover. But with the U.S.A. it's a given that we are just doing our ' BIGGER AND BETTER' thing. Who knows, maybe it's the new 'Beast of Islamabad'.

Sun and shine... sweetheart... smell the coffee.

[PointBlank]

Even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes. A 'nut' they'll never crack. Besides, that was last years model. We NEVER stop !!

i never said its the same model i told the airframe looks similar

[Icewolf]

@bouncing betty

Can you give me the google search link where you found this article?

[bouncing betty]

@bouncing betty

Can you give me the google search link where you found this article?

Sat Pic Offers Enticing Shot Of What May Be Secret Lockheed Drone

There you go, dude.

[Icewolf]

Sat Pic Offers Enticing Shot Of What May Be Secret Lockheed Drone

There you go, dude.

Are you retarded? I said GOOGLE SEARCH LINK.

[anon45]

Interesting.

If the reputation for the plant is true I doubt it is any common drone, though it could be a modified one.

[PointBlank]

'Feast' indeed ! And the MAIN COURSE is HellFire missiles, with the Pakistani governments blessings, naturally.


P.S. What's up, IceHole ? How's Mommy ?

starters? dessert?

[Nishan_101]

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Explain in details what is this???