Organization: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
References: <munk.715246928@prles6b>
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 13:32:13 GMT
Lines: 39
In article 715246928@prles6b, munk@prl.philips.nl (Harm Munk) writes:
>On wednesday, August 19, seismic stations located in the northwestern part
>of the Netherlands registered an atmospheric shock wave, which, apparantly,
>was not related to any seismic activity .. but some kind
>of supersonic, military airplane breaking the sound barrier some ten miles west
>of the island of Texel. According to the KNMI, this is the only explanation left
>allthough it is an unsatisfactory one. ...
>The supposed sighting in the Netherlands was accompanied not only by sonic
>booms (energetic enough to crack the front of a house somewhere in the province of
>Friesland) but some people reported seeing a flash of light as well. Was this
>also the case with the sightings in the US?
They probably saw a low-flying military aircraft with its afterburners on. Maybe
it punched through a low-lying cloud deck on its way out.
>Rumours in the newspapers suggested that it was that highly
>secretive airplane that Lockeed is developing for the DoD: the two stage get
>to orbit plane (like DynaSoar and Saenger ?). Now, this plane has been sighted
>in the US a few times. ...
According to Aviation Week & Space Technology (aka AvLeak) this aircraft is an
SR 71 replacement developed by Lockheed Skunkworks. Speeds estimated at 3500+ mph.
Definitely *not* a 2 stage to orbit plane. It has only been seen near the ground
dimly at night, and was described as `bat-like'' similar to the B2 airfoil. People
report a low frequency, growling noise of tremendous power at takeoff. Daytime
photos of peculiar corkscrew contrails that have been attributed to this aircraft
suggest an ``explosive'' or pulsed propulsion system, but the observers did not have
binoculars to see the plane itself (flying at high altitudes). AvLeak reports an
increasing number of daytime sightings like this, suggesting that the program is emerging from the so-called Black (i.e. non-itemized) DoD budget into full
Congressional scrutiny, presumably because the DoD has now sunk so much money into
it and distributed its contractors into so many Congressional districts that the
program is unkillable. Yet another multi-billion dollar aerospace program to
protect US airspace from the Bosnian airforce.
>And why was someone from Lockeed Space and Missiles Systems asking questions
