Musings about the F-117 companion

a reply to: usafage

Hell, why do you think some posts on here are left alone.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I wonder what the ratio of regular posters to disinformation/misinformation posters is. Always a deeper rabbit hole...

Well, sometimes the best way to hide something is in plain sight. No one expects the obvious. People have a tendency to make a lot of assumptions and tend to over complicate things.

a reply to: Bfirez

It really doesn't need to be high. I've lost count of the number of times this forum has figured something out only to decide that can't be the right answer and go shooting off on some random tangent that isn't even close. People do most of the work for them, and one or two people to nudge here and there would work a lot better.

Well, in order to recognize something secret/classified, you'd have to know what to look for. I could dig a gig like that. Get paid to pour over the all forms of media and have access to all the secret information. They'd have to let me work from home though, as I don't like office break rooms and sharing refrigerators with co-workers.

Someone always steals your pizza in the company fridge.

a reply to: MystikMushroom
LOL!! Funny you say that! Same damn thing happened to me today at the office!! Some ***hole stole my pizza out of the refrigerator!!!!

originally posted by: weavty1
a reply to: MystikMushroom
LOL!! Funny you say that! Same damn thing happened to me today at the office!! Some ***hole stole my pizza out of the refrigerator!!!!

My mate had his milk stolen so he replaced it with his wife's breast milk! Lol.

Soooo many rabbit holes to go down I think is the problem..Occams razor I think is the best way of dealing with things.

Decade long lurker, first time poster.

Something that occurred to me whilst reading this thread (and similar elsewhere online) is that the fact that the F-117 companion is still classified today perhaps suggests one of two things. Either, the powers that be didn't want it known so that it wouldn't be targeted and thus weaken the effectiveness of the F-117's themselves, or the shape of the companion is significant.

If, indeed, the companion craft was sent in ahead of the F-117's to perform some kind of EW/jamming role, it would have to be stealthy and, it seems to me, probably more stealthy than the F-117 (otherwise why not just send in an EW F-117?). If that is the case, the shape of the companion would probably play a significant part in the increased invisibility and thus the powers that be would want it to remain unseen and the (more stealthy) shape unknown publically.

a reply to: Forensick

I used to put green food dye in my milk whilst sharing a fridge at college

a reply to: jammin606

I could easily see it being a bit of both. If it was/is an ECM-oriented escort to further degrade enemy radar while escorting the F-117 through hostile air defenses (which I believe is likely its role, ECM with situational awareness via low-POI radar seems like a much more likely role than "target designation", especially since the EF-111 was retired sans protests a few years after the F-117 flew its first missions, which to me heavily suggests that something black replaced it) then it's highly likely that the F-117 wasn't the only thing it escorted.

I, from my very limited contact with USAF personnel who flew a very certain sort of classified mission, have formed the belief that Senior Citizen, or something very similar to it, was built. Dropping off/picking up CIA/SEAL/SAS teams in sovereign territory without any declaration of war is and has been aa big priority for the USAF and SOCOM, with the assets to match. We saw a bit of that with the stealthhawk (and the supposed stealth Chinook) used in Neptune Spear, and I'd bet that there's also a fixed-wing asset or two in the mix as well.

If the companion exists, then shielding these other assets as they perform their missions would likely be an even higher priority than shielding the f-117, and the diplomatic ramifications of their missions is why we probably won't ever hear a peep about any of them.

a reply to: jammin606

The companion is still classified because apparently it is still in active service as of late last year/early this year. Until it is replaced or retired it will most likely stay in the deep black. Even then may never be declassified to maintain OPSEC of what ever took its place.

a reply to: Sammamishman

The VAUNTED F-19?

a reply to: cavtrooper7

What ever it's real designation is, I'm not sure. Like a glimpse of the real aircraft, we may never know.

originally posted by: Sammamishman
a reply to: jammin606

The companion is still classified because apparently it is still in active service as of late last year/early this year.

The F-117 was de-classified and revealed even though it was still in active service and yet the companion never has been. As Barnalby says, this could simply be because it continues to support missions that will never be acknowledged; better to pretend it doesn't exist than to have to explain why it does.

I do still wonder though if the companion was more stealthy than the F-117, especially if it was the first asset in.

originally posted by: grey580
Ran across this.
Has some old papers from 91 talking about the companion craft.


space-man.de...

Pages 11 and 12

maybe more.

.

Page 36 too, interesting read, a black triangle bigger that the F-117 passing almost realtime videos of the F-117 attacks. Battle damage assessment?

It reminded me of the photographs of us bombing IS in Iraq, something about the quality of the footage being better than the bombers carried.

Also says it probable supports the B2 to cover one of its shortfalls so it might be why it's still black, or super black as the article put it.

a reply to: jammin606

I'd guess that it's a relatively early all-aspect, multispectral stealth design from the early 80's (like the Tacit Blue), which is why I'm almost 100% certain it wasn't a Lockheed craft, as they were faceted (narrowband stealth) designs like the F-117 at the time. That's why it's still in service, as those designs are much easier to upgrade via new coatings, etc in order to keep them relevant.

The idea of it covering a shortfall or two of the B-2 would make perfect sense as to why it's still hidden, if not for the fact that the B-2 design likely to be an advanced offshoot of this craft's design, or at least it's means of achieving stealth performance. Although I could see it having the same level of shape-derived stealthiness as the B-2, but with much more updated coatings. Even if that's the case, I would expect that its (likely Tacit Blue-derived) low-POI ECM suite would make it the de facto harder to see of the two.

As to flying triangles, maybe it IS Sneaky Pete or one of her descendants, all the rumors of that design being less stealthy than Have Blue are just a bunch of hooey... (Mostly kidding, mostly)

I,m beginning to think its just a Plain Jane X-47b

a reply to: Blackfinger

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it was, verbatim, the Northrop ATA contender, either...

a reply to: grey580

When you first posted this picture I almost overlooked it. Anyone else have a comment on it? *cough*Zaph*cough*