Northrop Tacit Blue | |
|---|---|
| Land | Usa |
| Rolle | Stealth-demonstrant |
| Første flyvning | 5. februar 1982 |
| Bygget | 1 |
Den Nordlig stiltiende blå var et teknologisk demonstrationsfly skabt for at demonstrere, at et lavt observerbart stealth-overvågningsfly med lav sandsynlighed for aflytningsradar og andre sensorer kunne operere tæt på den forreste kamplinje med en høj grad af overlevelsesevne.
| Northrop Tacit Blue Walk Around | |
|---|---|
| Fotografer | John Heck, Vladimir Yakubov |
| Lokalisering | Unknow |
| Billeder | 64 |
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General Characteristics and Role
The Northrop Tacit Blue was a highly classified technology demonstrator aircraft developed by the US Air Force and DARPA during the Cold War. Nicknamed “The Whale” or “Alien School Bus” due to its unusual, bulbous shape, its main purpose was to prove that a stealthy surveillance aircraft could operate safely close to the forward line of battle. It was revolutionary for being the first stealth aircraft to successfully use curved, Gaussian surfaces to achieve a low radar cross-section, a concept later used in the B-2 Spirit bomber. It was part of the Battlefield Surveillance Aircraft, eXperimental (BSAX) program and was designed around a large Side-Looking Array Radar (SLAR) system.
| Property | Typical Value (Tacit Blue) |
|---|---|
| Type | Stealth Technology Demonstrator / Surveillance Aircraft |
| National Origin | USA |
| Producent | Northrop Corporation |
| First Flight | 5. februar 1982 |
| Besætning | 1 (Pilot) |
| Gross Weight | 13,608 kg (30,000 lb) |
| Længde | 17.02 m (55 ft 10 in) |
| Vingefang | 14.68 m (48 ft 2 in) |
Powerplant and Flight Control
- Engines: 2 x Garrett ATF3-6 high-bypass turbofan engines (buried in the aft fuselage to reduce heat signature).
- Thrust: 24.2 kN (5,440 lbf) each.
- Design Operational Speed: 460 km/h (290 mph or 250 knots).
- Operating Altitude: 7,600–9,100 m (25,000–30,000 ft) (designed for loitering).
- Stealth Features: Curved fuselage surfaces, V-tail, and a single flush inlet on the dorsal fuselage to minimize radar return.
- Flight Stability: The aircraft was highly aerodynamically unstable, necessitating a quadruple-redundant digital fly-by-wire flight control system to keep it stable.
- Armament: None; it was purely a reconnaissance testbed.
Operational History and Legacy
- Status: Classified Black Project from 1982 to 1985; declassified and revealed to the public in 1996.
- Flight Testing: Logged 135 test flights over three years in Area 51, Nevada.
- Technology Transfer: The data gathered from the Tacit Blue was instrumental in developing two critical US Air Force aircraft:
- The Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bomber (for its curved surface stealth technology).
- The E-8 Joint STARS surveillance aircraft (for its low-probability-of-intercept (LPI) SLAR radar technology).
- Historical Significance: Tacit Blue is considered one of the most successful technology demonstrator programs in Air Force history, fundamentally changing the approach to stealth aircraft design by demonstrating the feasibility of curved stealth shaping.
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