124 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
124 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: THE ART OF BLACK MAGIC - STEALTH TECHNOLOGY FILE: UFO3105
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From "Stealth Technology: The Art of Black Magic", by Joseph Jones
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LOCKHEED/AIR FORCE AURORA HYPERSONIC STEALTH RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT
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This program, code-named AURORA, has been confirmed by a retired
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Air Force official, who said, "USAF has had this type of aircraft on the
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drawing board for many years now." The name 'Aurora' was thought to have
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belonged to the B-2 bomber or F-117 stealth fighter, but it is now known to
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refer to a super-secret hypersonic long-range stealth aircraft designed and
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built at Lockheed's Skunkworks in Burbank, CA. There have been reports of
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Auroras flying from Nellis AFB's Area 51 (Watertown Strip) in Groom Dry Lake,
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Nevada.
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The Aurora's top spedd is said to be 3,800 miles per hour or more and
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cruise range 5,750 miles. Operational altitude is between 100,000 and 150,000
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feet. With those performance figures, it is likely that the Aurora is intended
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to replace the aging fleet of Lockheed SR-71 strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
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The disclosure of the Aurora Mach 5 stealth spy aircraft was apparently
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made by mistake by the DoD in its 1985 defense budget proposal. One budget
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document, with the title "Air Breathing Reconnaissance," contained a passing
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reference to the Lockheed SR-71 spy plane. This was followed by lines that
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referred to the SR-71's replacement, with the program code name of AURORA.
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Accorcording to reports from various aviation authorities, since 1980,
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Lockheed and the USAF have been testing a Mach 6 hypersonic research, air-
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breathing, manned aircraft from the secret test range on Area 51. These
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reports also state that the Aurora aircraft stemmed from that research program.
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During mid-1987 congressional hearings, information about AURORA was
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nearly leaked, but only scant details of the program are known to the public.
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The Air Force has begun reducing the operational number of SR-71s in inventory
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during the past few years, so observers of stealth aircraft knew something was
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up. Air Force Secretary Edward Aldridge explained that SR-71 retirements were
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simply a result of the expense of operating the Blackbird, but he also admitted
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that the Air Force is interested in developing a manned reconnaissance aircraft
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incorporating low-observable technology. The Aurora could be the aircraft
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sought by the Air Force as an SR-71 replacement.
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The Mach 5.8 Aurora's engines run on liquid methane. After taking off
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from Watertown Strip and refueling once in flight, the Aurora reportedly can
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cross the Pacific Ocean nonstop in 2.5 hours. A modified KC-10 or KC-135
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tanker aircraft is said to be used for inflight refueling of the Aurora.
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The AURORA program was allocated $2.3 billion in 1985. One report
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stated that there are 25 of the secret hypersonic spy planes already operation-
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al from Tonapah Base Area 30 in Nevada.
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------------------------
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The Aurora line item in the P-1 document doesn't say anything about Lockheed.
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The Lockheed tie-in was made later in a magazine (I don't have it handy, but
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I probably have it somewhere in my stacks). If I recall, the article said
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something about a cancelled Lockheed high-speed vehicle concept, that was named
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Aurora, or it may have been a quote of an ex-Lockheed person saying that there
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once was a high-speed aircraft project that had been cancelled, that they had
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called Aurora. It sounded to me like a comment to kill the speculation of the
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time about Aurora.
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By the way, here is a reproduction of the appropriate page of that famous
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'Aurora' reference. It comes from the following document:
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Cover:
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PROCUREMENT PROGRAMS (P-1)
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Department of Defense Budget For Fiscal Year 1986
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February 4, 1985
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On page F-5 you see the following:
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UNCLASSIFIED
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Department Of The Air Force
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FY 1986 Procurement
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Program Exhibit P-1
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Appropriation: 3010 F Aircraft Procurement, Air Force Date: 04, Feb 1985
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- ---------------------------------------------
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Millions Of Dollars
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(Dollars) ---------------------------
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-------------------------------------------- S
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Line Ident FY 1986 -----FY 1984---- -----FY
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1985---- -----FY 1986---- -----FY 1987----- E
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No Item Nomenclature Code Unit Cost Quantity Cost Quantity
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Cost Quantity Cost Quantity Cost O
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----- --------- -------- ------- --------
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----- -------- ----- -------- ------ -
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Other Aircraft
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28 AURORA B 80.1 2272.4 U
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29 TR-1/U-2 A 44,050,000 6 (164.1) 4
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(185.6) 8 (352.4) 2 (110.0)U
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Less: Advance Procurement (PY) (-8.4) (-16.7)
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(-8.5)
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------- ------
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------ ------
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155.7 168.9
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343.9 110.0
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30 TR-1/U-2
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Advance Procurement (CY) 16.7 8.5
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U
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------- ------
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------ ------
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Total Other Aircraft 172.4 219.8
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540.0 2707.1
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Page F-4 had a major heading that the 'Other Aircraft' category appeared
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under... 'Airbreathing Reconnaissance' You will also notice that the totals
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for 'Other Aircraft' don't add-up in all columns. They do in FY 1984, but not
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afterwards.
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