YF-13 Myth, Real or Deeply Classified

In the early 1990s Dennis F. "Bones" Sager was handpicked to command a "Classified Flight Test Squadron" (Special Projects Flight Test Squadron) and lead a "classified prototype aircraft" called the YF-113G from design to first flight. As a fighter pilot and experimental test pilot, Sager accumulated over 2,900 flight hours in 54 aircraft types including Soviet fighters at Groom Lake. He was first Air Force pilot to fly the YF-113G.

Contrary to reports in Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, this was NOT a Mig-23. The confusion comes from the fact that other YF-113 designations (i.e. YF-113A, YF-113B, YF-113C, and YF-113E) have been used for various models of MiG-17 and MiG-23 aircraft.

Sager said several years ago that it is unlikely the YF-113G will be declassified anytime soon. During the test program he posed with the aircraft for a photographer, but the photo is still classified. "It's waiting for me in a vault, " he said, "if they declassify it."

Source

Also Found This

Northrop Grumman YF-113G

There have been sightings of an aircraft with a trailing edge comprised of many triangular "teeth" in the South-Western USA during 1993 and 1994. It has been suggested that the unusual shape of the trailing edge might help in reducing engine sound and heat emissions. The two-seat plane is 20 to 50 percent larger than the F-117 and can carry a larger payload. The aircraft is thought to be a stealthy, more capable replacement for the F-111 strike aircraft. The aircraft may be designated YF-113G and have made its first flight between May 1994 and July 1996. Possible operational bases include Tonopah AFB in Nevada, Cannon AFB in New Mexico, and Langley AFB in Virginia.

Souce



Has any information ever come of this? Was this the now known "Bird of Prey"? Any Leaks?

The YF-113G was flown at least as early as 1993 and was still flying in 1995 (The Bird of Prey did not fly until September 1996). The description in Sager's bio said he commanded the squadron that "took the YF-113G from design to first flight," which strongly suggested that the airplane was a new design rather than acquired foreign hardware. That said, it should be noted that Sager had been one of the Red Hats pilots that tested various foreign fighter planes. The only other pilot so far confirmed to have flown the YF-113G was also a Red Hat so it's possible that it was, in fact a foreign aircraft and that the words "from design" were in error.

Other Red Hats aircraft flown from 1987 to 1995 include theYF-110E, YF-110L, YF-110M, YF-113C (not to be confused with the Cambodian MiG-17 flown in 1970 as the YF-113C), YF-113E (MiG-23MS), YF-113H, and YF-116A.

If it's still classified, he won't be talking about it. That's the way it works.

reply to post by Shadowhawk


Thanks. I am aware of the Red Hat Squad. In fact my Father a former US Air Force member of the DIA actually met and sat in the cockpit of of one of the more recent Mig defectors or one the 21 Moldovan aircraft we had purchased (had to be lat 80's to late 90's) I have pics of him somewhere climbing out of the cockpit, I want to say it was a Mig-25 Foxbat or a Mig-29 Fulcrum but it could have been one of the others, but I don't remember which..

But back on topic, I am very hungry for some piloted black projects that are just coming out or leaking out if you may. I'm getting tired of UAV or UCAVS, bad ass as they are, they are just giant R/C toys. There is some thing more intriguing about piloted aircraft to me. If I had 20/20 vision I'd love to be an AF pilot or a Test pilot (i know they relaxed the restrictions on 20/20 vision). Ah well a boy can dream.

I hope the YF-23 does not refer to the Red Hat Squadron but to a still classified airframe.

Sadly, the greatest need for "blackworld" test pilots these days seems to be with the Red Hats. It's a top priority program. Also, use of unmanned vehicles has been expanding in recent years. There are still some classified aircraft yet to be revealed to the public, though fewer than I had once hoped.

I would very much like to see the "classified advanced technology demonstration prototype" that was flown by Maj. Frank Birk in August 1983. He made the first flight, as well as two additional flights for envelope clearance, stability and control, and initial systems evaluation. The words "advanced technology demonstration" suggest an entirely new aircraft as opposed to a foreign type, and Birk was never a Red Hat.

Doug Benjamin flew four classified aircraft during his Air Force career. So far only one, the Bird of Prey, has been declassified. Were the others Red Hats types or something new? We can only guess at this point.

Between 1992 and 1997, Joe Lanni flew hundreds of sorties in 10 different classified aircraft to evaluate performance, flying qualities, avionics, and military utility. Most of these were definitely Red Hats aircraft. He flew first flights in two "classified prototypes" during this time. One of them was designated YF-24, a departure from the use of three-digit identifiers for classified aircraft (such as the YF-113G and YF-117A). Because of the YF designations and the experimental and developmental nature of the tests, Red Hat pilots refer to their airplanes as "classified prototypes" or "specially modified test aircraft." According to some sources, the YF-24 was first flown in the spring of 1997. One source described it as a "technology demonstrator" and said that there was a "follow-on program." That brings to mind the way that Lockheed's HAVE BLUE was a technology demonstrator with SENIOR TREND (the YF-117A) as a follow-on development of an operational aircraft.

Daniel R. Vanderhorst, a test pilot who had flown Northrop’s TACIT BLUE (reportedly designated YF-117D) was honored in October 2004 at the Gathering of Eagles banquet, a fundraiser for the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend but there was some excitement when his biography was read at the event because it claimed that he had “flown seven classified aircraft to date,” and that many of his flights were in one-of-a-kind technology demonstrators. The Master of Ceremonies said that Vanderhorst had “made his career in so many classified aircraft, there is not much we can say about him on record.” This description proved to be misleading, however. In putting together a short biography for the event, someone unfamiliar with the details of Vanderhorst’s career inadvertently garbled several pieces of information. A list of seven consecutive months of flying sorties in TACIT BLUE (the aircraft type was listed simply as “Classified”) was misconstrued as a list of seven different aircraft. Vanderhorst never saw the text before it was published and so was unable to make corrections. The resulting discussions on ATS ate up a great deal of bandwidth and I am sorry to say that I was I was responsible for much of it.

Since 1983, there have been more than a dozen classified manned aircraft flown at Groom Lake (Area 51). Most of then were foreign types used by the Red Hats but there were at least a few revolutionary new aircraft.

There have also been a great many unmanned craft flown at Area 51, as well as Tonopah Test Range (Area 52) and Yucca Lake (Area 6). Many of them come from the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. For example, we have seen photos of the P-175 Polecat and the P-170/RQ-170 Sentinel but we have yet to see any pictures of the Desert Prowler.

originally posted by: Shadowhawk
Sadly, the greatest need for "blackworld" test pilots these days seems to be with the Red Hats. It's a top priority program. Also, use of unmanned vehicles has been expanding in recent years. There are still some classified aircraft yet to be revealed to the public, though fewer than I had once hoped.

I would very much like to see the "classified advanced technology demonstration prototype" that was flown by Maj. Frank Birk in August 1983. He made the first flight, as well as two additional flights for envelope clearance, stability and control, and initial systems evaluation. The words "advanced technology demonstration" suggest an entirely new aircraft as opposed to a foreign type, and Birk was never a Red Hat.

Doug Benjamin flew four classified aircraft during his Air Force career. So far only one, the Bird of Prey, has been declassified. Were the others Red Hats types or something new? We can only guess at this point.

Between 1992 and 1997, Joe Lanni flew hundreds of sorties in 10 different classified aircraft to evaluate performance, flying qualities, avionics, and military utility. Most of these were definitely Red Hats aircraft. He flew first flights in two "classified prototypes" during this time. One of them was designated YF-24, a departure from the use of three-digit identifiers for classified aircraft (such as the YF-113G and YF-117A). Because of the YF designations and the experimental and developmental nature of the tests, Red Hat pilots refer to their airplanes as "classified prototypes" or "specially modified test aircraft." According to some sources, the YF-24 was first flown in the spring of 1997. One source described it as a "technology demonstrator" and said that there was a "follow-on program." That brings to mind the way that Lockheed's HAVE BLUE was a technology demonstrator with SENIOR TREND (the YF-117A) as a follow-on development of an operational aircraft.

Daniel R. Vanderhorst, a test pilot who had flown Northrop’s TACIT BLUE (reportedly designated YF-117D) was honored in October 2004 at the Gathering of Eagles banquet, a fundraiser for the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend but there was some excitement when his biography was read at the event because it claimed that he had “flown seven classified aircraft to date,” and that many of his flights were in one-of-a-kind technology demonstrators. The Master of Ceremonies said that Vanderhorst had “made his career in so many classified aircraft, there is not much we can say about him on record.” This description proved to be misleading, however. In putting together a short biography for the event, someone unfamiliar with the details of Vanderhorst’s career inadvertently garbled several pieces of information. A list of seven consecutive months of flying sorties in TACIT BLUE (the aircraft type was listed simply as “Classified”) was misconstrued as a list of seven different aircraft. Vanderhorst never saw the text before it was published and so was unable to make corrections. The resulting discussions on ATS ate up a great deal of bandwidth and I am sorry to say that I was I was responsible for much of it.

Since 1983, there have been more than a dozen classified manned aircraft flown at Groom Lake (Area 51). Most of then were foreign types used by the Red Hats but there were at least a few revolutionary new aircraft.

There have also been a great many unmanned craft flown at Area 51, as well as Tonopah Test Range (Area 52) and Yucca Lake (Area 6). Many of them come from the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. For example, we have seen photos of the P-175 Polecat and the P-170/RQ-170 Sentinel but we have yet to see any pictures of the Desert Prowler.

The current resume of Joseph Lanni (who is now a USAF Brigadier General) omits mention of "YF-24" despite saying that "numerous classified prototypes" are among the aircraft flown by Lanni. In all probability, the www.edwards.af.mil..." target="_blank" class="postlink">May 2004 edition of the resume by Lanni mentioning "YF-24" among the aircraft flown by him is merely a typographical mistake, but it is possible that the kind of aircraft that crashed at RAF Boscombe Down in September 1994 was one of the classified aircraft flown by Lanni at Edwards AFB. Lastly, I should mention that the Lockheed Martin X-44 experimental flying wing UAV flown in the early 2000s was publicly revealed in March 2018, and that Andreas Parsch quotes the cover designation F-118G for the Boeing Bird of Prey.

a reply to: Potlatch

You are not adding value to the thread by posting disinformation claiming that the Air For never used YF-24 designation. It was indeed used, as was confirmed many years ago. It was one of many such unclassified designations (YF-113G, YF-116A, YF-118G, etc.) that were provided to account for flight hours in classified aircraft.

The Lockheed Martin Manta dis indeed wear the X-44A designation when it was unveiled in 2018. I was there. No one has yet determined whether it was an actual X-plane designation allocated by the Air Force.