Message posted by Magoo on March 30, 2000 at 22:14:51 EST:
Good pick up Paul. I haven't seen the article you mentioned, but NASA has been experimenting with 'active' wings without control surfaces for some years on an F-111 test bed at Edwards. The wing can actually bend and twist, and also droop at the trailing edge. The tests were successful by all accounts, but the F-111 retained its conventional rudder and horizontal stabilizers. The test aircraft has been flying for some years, and I don't know what its current status is (can SWK, Richard or SS assist here?). Certainly, it is not unreasonable to expect the same technology has been trialled on other platforms, and perhaps UAV/UCAVs. USAF has acknowledged that it is/will be trialling a UCAV with a view to making it into a SEAD platform that could go 'downtown' and clear a path for conventional manned aircraft, in much the same way the F-117 did during the Gulf War. An IOC of 2005 for the UCAV has been mentioned in some circles, although I personally think this may be a bit ambitious. I attended a conference last November that was attended by a USAF 2-star who discussed this quite openly. I may be wrong, but I think from memory of reading Ben Rich's book that 'Hopeless Diamond' was one of Lockheed's internal nicknames for the 'Have Blue' prototype, which became the F-117. Can anyone confirm this? Regarding the A-12, I wouldn't be surprised if this aircraft has been kept on ice somewhere and is being developed into an operational aircraft. It was such a promising and capable design that had met almost all its design targets, and it was only canned because it became too big and heavy for carrier deployment, and because its cost blew out to over US$160 million per copy (in 1991 dollars!!!). It would make sense if they did keep the design active, and wait until technology caught up to be able to reduce the costs and the weight problems it had. It's now 9 years since it was cancelled, and I'll bet the relevant technology has moved on quite a bit in that time...! Some of the rumoured designations coming out of that area may also suggest a naval aircraft is also being developed! Magoo
In Reply to: Boeing UCAV !?! posted by Paul Reinman on March 30, 2000 at 09:03:45 EST:
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