Interesting Sighting Plant 42

I was checking out some air traffic going into Plant 42 on FlightRadar24 this morning and accidentally zoomed in on one of Northrop's hangars on the north side of the field and saw a diamond shaped drone that I didn't recognize sitting in front of a hangar door that was slightly opened. Anyone have any idea what bird this is? Interesting design.

For some reason I can't figure out how to embed an image in this post. Link to screen shot below.

anonmgur.com...anonmgur.com...

a reply to: MAVERICKANDGOOSE

That's cool.
Looks like a D-21 with a 40 year upgrade.

a reply to: MAVERICKANDGOOSE

Here ya go...

originally posted by: UberL33t
a reply to: MAVERICKANDGOOSE

Here ya go...

Sweet! Thanks dude.

a reply to: MAVERICKANDGOOSE

It's the X-47A.

en.wikipedia.org...

Zaphod beat me to it. Here is another pic.

B model variant doing arrests aboard carrier. Lethal as other attack aircraft. Even more so, theres nobody aboard to make last minute decisions not to drop two tons of ordnance.

The perfect robot.

a reply to: intrptr

theres nobody aboard to make last minute decisions not to drop two tons of ordnance.

Or wash out of a mission due to to illness.
On other types of unmanned aircraft, when they become available, no pilot to blackout on high G maneuvers.
Or get scared and poop in their drawers.

a reply to: butcherguy

Or to make double sure they aren't dropping on friendlies, weddings, civvies, mosques, whatever. Less guilt from a secure video game cockpit miles away.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: butcherguy

Or to make double sure they aren't dropping on friendlies, weddings, civvies, mosques, whatever. Less guilt from a secure video game cockpit miles away.

Excellent points.
The robot wars could be really scary.... especially if they were to be turned on us, due to a hack or.... AI outtacontrol!

a reply to: butcherguy

Man in the cockpit.

Another man in the cockpit.

Two men in a non-moving cockpit.

I could go on, but a man in the cockpit certainly doesn't stop friendly fire, or bombing a mosque, or a hospital, or anything else. People on scene are going to screw up just as badly as people looking through the sensors thousands of miles away.