[bluecoconuts]

That thing used to be top secret. Now they have one (Well an A-12) in the parking lot at the California Science Center, right near the Coliseum btw...

It's funny, after the Bin Laden raid my dad was talking about the stealth helicopter, and my response was "Wait, those were top secret? I was using them for years on raids, nobody ever told us they were secret!"

[Stranger]

That thing used to be top secret. Now they have one (Well an A-12) in the parking lot at the California Science Center, right near the Coliseum btw...

It's funny, after the Bin Laden raid my dad was talking about the stealth helicopter, and my response was "Wait, those were top secret? I was using them for years on raids, nobody ever told us they were secret!"

What helicopter is stealth? And how is it stealthy... is it just low noise?

[bluecoconuts]

That thing used to be top secret. Now they have one (Well an A-12) in the parking lot at the California Science Center, right near the Coliseum btw...

It's funny, after the Bin Laden raid my dad was talking about the stealth helicopter, and my response was "Wait, those were top secret? I was using them for years on raids, nobody ever told us they were secret!"

What helicopter is stealth? And how is it stealthy... is it just low noise?

Low noise, and most importantly really low, if any, radar signature. It was really good in Afghanistan near the Pakistani boarder because Pakistani radar can pick up normal aircraft and potentially report it to enemy forces. It's also good if you need to go into another country you're not supposed to be in doing spook things (like the Bin Laden raid, or the raid against an ISIS commander in Syria)... The problem is that the design makes it so it can only really drop you in and out, not provide CAS, since the machine guns would increase radar signature. It's also heavier than a standard Black Hawk.

It's still technically classified, we were using them on various raids in Afghanistan, and just assumed we got newer helicopters first because we were part of SOCOM. Nobody told us it was secret, but none of us told anyone about them anyway because we always were told to be quiet professionals, save the book writing for the SEALS and don't tell people what we do.

[Stranger]

Just found this story
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/top-secre ... d=13530693
and this
http://theaviationist.com/2012/05/01/st ... -hawk-new/
and this
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/stealt ... sama-raid/

The rotor system on those modified Blackhawks must be incredible. Blades must spin at very low rotational speeds to eliminate the supersonic air chop that creates the really loud noise on the forward moving blades. Must have been cool flying in them.

[Rams the Legends live on]

Just found this story
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/top-secre ... d=13530693
and this
http://theaviationist.com/2012/05/01/st ... -hawk-new/
and this
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/stealt ... sama-raid/

The rotor system on those modified Blackhawks must be incredible. Blades must spin at very low rotational speeds to eliminate the supersonic air chop that creates the really loud noise on the forward moving blades. Must have been cool flying in them.

I am a member of a history web site and we have Americans, British, Anzacs, Canucks and a few other nationalities there. So while we always argue over who has the best Army or special ops we all agree American bar none is the air power and air superiority of the world. It is really amazing what we have been doing since WW2 with aircraft.

[bluecoconuts]

Just found this story
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/top-secre ... d=13530693
and this
http://theaviationist.com/2012/05/01/st ... -hawk-new/
and this
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/stealt ... sama-raid/

The rotor system on those modified Blackhawks must be incredible. Blades must spin at very low rotational speeds to eliminate the supersonic air chop that creates the really loud noise on the forward moving blades. Must have been cool flying in them.

I am a member of a history web site and we have Americans, British, Anzacs, Canucks and a few other nationalities there. So while we always argue over who has the best Army or special ops we all agree American bar none is the air power and air superiority of the world. It is really amazing what we have been doing since WW2 with aircraft.

America and America. Having working with other nations special operations, they're all very good, especially SAS, afterall that's who we modeled many of our special operations off of.

My experience though, American special operations are always less hesitant in combat, more lethal. The techniques are largely the same, and the equipment is as well, the biggest difference is that American forces were quicker to move forward and quicker to shoot on almost levels, which to me gives us an edge. We had the discipline to hold fire when needed and the balls to overwhelm the enemy with violence when necessary. Lethal combination.

[Stranger]

So while we always argue over who has the best Army or special ops we all agree American bar none is the air power and air superiority of the world. It is really amazing what we have been doing since WW2 with aircraft.

I spent my early career helping create that air superiority. I didn't realize just how special all that work was, until now... much later in my life. Back then, I was just a kid who loved everything that flew

Sometimes I wish I would have stayed in the field. I was on a pretty cool career path. But alas, I was young and stupid and had lots of other stuff I wanted to do

[TSFH Fan]

It is really amazing what we have been doing since WW2 with aircraft.

I don't know anything about tech specs or anything like that, but from just for looks, I wish this would've gone into production:

[Rams the Legends live on]

I don't know anything about tech specs or anything like that, but from just for looks, I wish this would've gone into production:

I wish our country could have gone with both the F-22 and 23. As to me it just seems cool to have 2 aircraft in your arsenal with names like Raptor and Black Widow.

[bubbaramfan]

I have a cousin who works for DARPA. He's made comments about how we now have anit-gravity capability. Counter rotating discs with electro=magnets in a cone filled with mercury. It creates a magnetic field opposite the earths gravity. The pilots sit in a cockpit filled with super-oxygenated water to counter effect the g-forces (they actually breathe water). The outside skin is surrounded by a plasma field to keep it from overheating. Hi Tech stuff?