The US military “ accidentally '' showed the appearance of a new generation fighter in a video from the military-industrial company Northrop Grumman. This was reported by The Drive. AiF.ru determined what type of aircraft it was and whether the one depicted in the video could be trusted.
On November 1, Northrop Grumman Corporation released a video with a hangar with planes, some of which really exist, and some & mdash; just concepts. Among the latter & mdash; a large discreet plane without vertical stabilizer, adapted to the description of the fighter of the NGAD program.
The video itself is 15 seconds long. During the action, the elevator brings the girl down to the hangar, the doors open and then close. As a result, the plane can be seen within moments. Based on what we have seen, it can be noted that the new aircraft is very large, inconspicuous and without a vertical tail.
According to The Drive, this is similar to the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program platform. The program involves the creation of a family of systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles and manned long-range vehicles, included in tactical weapons. The fighter shown in the video meets the requirements of this program. The outline of the plane suggests that it is hard to find (and, apparently, easy to lose).
By the way, it can be both unmanned and controlled, according to the article's authors. & Nbsp; It also bears a slight resemblance to the Model 401 airplane developed by Scaled Composites, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. In particular, the sharp white nose resembles one of the new Northrop Grumman Slave and Unmanned Combat Vehicle (UCAV) concepts available. One version of this device is based on the “Model 401” and the other is “its 'derivative'.
However, the plane looks like a painted plane. By the way, the quality of the video itself is very low, which is rather odd for such a large company. Internet commentators sarcastically point out that in this way the company is hiding the wrong design and the very concept of the airplane. There is a version which is the new F/A-XX. It's backed up by the fact that it has a two-wheeled front landing gear, which no Air Force fighter has, according to the Air Force. # 39; one of the users.
By the way, there are also planes in the video. On the far left is an unmanned combat aircraft with a flying wing, very similar to future X-47B glider demonstrators. & Nbsp;
There is also a B-2 Spirit, far in the background, the B-21 Raider or the RQ-180 seem to take off. At the rear right we have the EA-18G Growler, the E-2D Hawkeye, (the latest version of the early warning and control aircraft), and finally the MQ-4C Triton, a derivative of the Q-4 Global Hawk for maritime surveillance.
The authors of the article come to the conclusion that the company just has fun teasing users with such videos. & nbsp;
