Sighted: A Secret US Aircraft in Afghanistan

[vizier]

By intuition it comes to whether you have done enough to avoid civilian casualties or not.
For example village bombings that happened many times in Afghanistan and resulted in replacement of nato commanders or funeral bombings inside Pakistan or the recent fuel tanker bombing that resulted in the resignation of German commander. In all cases more could be done to avoid civilian casualties.

Attacks against high value targets like b.mahsud or aqueda operatives inside Pakistan are different and even in those type of attacks there should be constant effort going on about
timing and ammunition which should be chosen to minimise collateral damage. Pakistan's Swat operation was a success in that regard as there were no indiscriminate bombings and the army does its best effort to block these incidents from happening. That is why the people living in Swat always support Pakistani army and hate taliban instead of becoming part of them like the case in Afghanistan.After S.Waziristan operation the situation will probably the same. Also if Pakistan needs to stop foreign drone operations these high value targets should be taken out by Pakistani airforce firstly that is what Pakistan lacks in its part.


thanks for the research effort that takes some time but bombarding us with hordes of information and making generalisations about them won't be enough to justify these acts like ww2 justifications of hiroshima to end wars etc. I and many others would find it an unnecessary effort to allocate time and refute them all since they are irrelevant when it comes to basic logic and it does not mean that those self justifications are moral.

 

[BSF]

This UAV has stealth features....may be these were brought in to strike deep inside Pakistani territory without the pakistani radars detecting it.

I am just saying.....

 

[Seadog1]

The X-45C can use the small diameter bomb against targets. this will reduce collateral damage. However if people are playing host to Al-Qaeda in their homes. Then they can expect to be targets.

The USA has developed a smart bomb called the Scalpel. weights about 100 lbs,, works as a glider so it can land miles from the drones.

SCALPEL is a small weapon system that offers precision engagement while minimizing the potential for collateral damage in close air support and urban environments. It is a spiral development program incorporating the existing Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round airframe, minimal aircraft integration costs and development efforts, low technical and schedule risks, and affordable unit cost. SCALPEL can be employed on F-16, F/A-18, AV-8B, medium and large UAV aircraft, and other domestic and international aircraft platforms.

I expect in 10 years where there is one drone now their will be hundreds carrying dozens of smart bombs each....they may be programed to attack targets automatically. It depends on how things are going....

There are some plans to convert 747s to carry as many as a 1000 Scalpels.

 

[Thomas]

The USA has developed a smart bomb called the Scalpel. weights about 100 lbs,, works as a glider so it can land miles from the drones.

SCALPEL is a small weapon system that offers precision engagement while minimizing the potential for collateral damage in close air support and urban environments. It is a spiral development program incorporating the existing Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round airframe, minimal aircraft integration costs and development efforts, low technical and schedule risks, and affordable unit cost. SCALPEL can be employed on F-16, F/A-18, AV-8B, medium and large UAV aircraft, and other domestic and international aircraft platforms.

I expect in 10 years where there is one drone now their will be hundreds carrying dozens of smart bombs each....they may be programed to attack targets automatically. It depends on how things are going....

There are some plans to convert 747s to carry as many as a 1000 Scalpels.

Your right! that one flew under my radar. Had no idea it was under development.

 

[gogbot]

This UAV has stealth features....may be these were brought in to strike deep inside Pakistani territory without the pakistani radars detecting it.

I am just saying.....

Who's to say they haven't already done so ?

May be the Chinese are already in Pakistan trying to find away around its stealth.

 

[gambit]

Still a major issue with gravity bombs, no matter how 'smart', is energy loss IF the bomb has to maneuver. An appropriate analogy is the soap box derby race where the cars are gravity accelerated. The car that runs the most straight win and any steering will create additional friction, or drag, and the car loses a bit of speed. For a gravity bomb, any maneuver for any reason would cause it to lose energy and a decrease in potential distance.

 

[gambit]

Who's to say they haven't already done so ?

May be the Chinese are already in Pakistan trying to find away around its stealth.

Good luck...For that is all that can help them.

 

[BlackenTheSky]

nice pic.....looks like the mystery aircraft may not be the C model. the exhaust is much different. Unless there is more then one variant of the C model.

Here is Cmodel

 

[Thomas]

By intuition it comes to whether you have done enough to avoid civilian casualties or not.
For example village bombings that happened many times in Afghanistan and resulted in replacement of nato commanders or funeral bombings inside Pakistan or the recent fuel tanker bombing that resulted in the resignation of German commander. In all cases more could be done to avoid civilian casualties.

Attacks against high value targets like b.mahsud or aqueda operatives inside Pakistan are different and even in those type of attacks there should be constant effort going on about
timing and ammunition which should be chosen to minimise collateral damage. Pakistan's Swat operation was a success in that regard as there were no indiscriminate bombings and the army does its best effort to block these incidents from happening. That is why the people living in Swat always support Pakistani army and hate taliban instead of becoming part of them like the case in Afghanistan.After S.Waziristan operation the situation will probably the same. Also if Pakistan needs to stop foreign drone operations these high value targets should be taken out by Pakistani airforce firstly that is what Pakistan lacks in its part.


thanks for the research effort that takes some time but bombarding us with hordes of information and making generalisations about them won't be enough to justify these acts like ww2 justifications of hiroshima to end wars etc. I and many others would find it an unnecessary effort to allocate time and refute them all since they are irrelevant when it comes to basic logic and it does not mean that those self justifications are moral.

The U.S. goes to greater lengths then any other nation of the world in avoiding civilian collateral damage. Does that mean there still isn't some? no of course not! in war there has been and always will be civilian casualties. To the anti-US/anti-war crowd though. It really doesn't matter how much the US tries to avoid collateral damage.

Let me ask you this.......do you post as well on the extremists using women and children as human shields? or when they go into a village and pull people out of their houses and execute them?

 

[Kompromat]

Friends , the USAF has confirmed the Existence of the mysterious UAV !!



Stealthy Sentinel In Afghan Skies

RQ-170 Sentinel UAV The U.S. Air Force has confirmed to Aviation Week the existence of the so-called "Beast of Kandahar" UAV, a stealth-like remotely piloted jet seen flying out of Afghanistan in late 2007. The RQ-170 Sentinel, believed to be a tailless flying wing design with sensor pods faired into the upper surface of each wing, was developed by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), better known as Skunk Works.

An Air Force official revealed on December 4th that the service is "developing a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward deployed combat forces." The UAV had been discussed on the Ares technology blog, as well as elsewhere online, but the USAF statement to Aviation Week was the first to detail the aircraft.

The RQ-170 is flown by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron at Tonopah Test Range, Nevada, home of the F-117 stealth fighter when the program's existence was secret — and falls under Air Combat Command's 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. At Kandahar, the Sentinel was seen operating out of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' hangar. The RQ-170 designation is similar to that of the F-117 — a correct prefix, but out of sequence to avoid obvious guesses of a program's existence. Technically, the RQ designation denotes an unarmed aircraft rather than the MQ prefix applied to the armed Predator and Reaper UAVs. The USAF phrase, "Support to forward deployed combat forces," when combined with observed details, suggest a moderate degree of stealth (including a blunt leading edge, simple nozzle and overwing sensor pods) and that the Sentinel is a tactical, operations-oriented platform and not a strategic intelligence-gathering design.

Many questions remain about the aircraft's use. If it is a high-altitude aircraft it is painted an unusual color — medium grey overall, like Predator or Reaper, rather then the dark gray or overall black that provides the best concealment at very high altitudes. The wingspan appears to be about 65-ft., about the same as an MQ-9 Reaper.— all taken from the left side — the impression is of a deep, fat centerbody blended into the outer wings. With its low-observable design, the aircraft might be useful for flying the borders of Iran and peering into China, India and Pakistan for useful data about missile tests, telemetry as well as gathering signals and multi-spectral intelligence. (Source: Aviation Week)

 

[Kompromat]

Good design considerable for our combat UAV

 

[K^se]

Don't hate on our technological advances because we are eons away from the rest of the developing world.. I must say the photoshop, was idiotic but good show in your patrioism good sir..Now, let's say Pakistan,India, (LOL nvm) or China was developing a UCAV, and had proof of already having the cotemporarily designs to do so, or even annonced such a project. You all might have been having an erection, as far as we know you don't except for China who are very secret about their military programs, but we highly doubt they can have homegrown any indigenous military hardware without Russian Help ;D, that to Rival Western counter-parts..

-The only other credible country I know that is developing a UCAV is Sweden, and France it's called the Dassault Neuron..

 

[Thomas]

Don't hate on our technological advances because we are eons away from the rest of the developing world.. I must say the photoshop, was idiotic but good show in your patrioism good sir..Now, let's say Pakistan,India, (LOL nvm) or China was developing a UCAV, and had proof of already having the cotemporarily designs to do so, or even annonced such a project. You all might have been having an erection, as far as we know you don't except for China who are very secret about their military programs, but we highly doubt they can have homegrown any indigenous military hardware without Russian Help ;D, that to Rival Western counter-parts..

-The only other credible country I know that is developing a UCAV is Sweden, and France it's called the Dassault Neuron..

Actually the Chinese are very adept at espionage. The old Soviet KGB would be envious.

 

[BATMAN]

This UAV has stealth features....may be these were brought in to strike deep inside Pakistani territory without the pakistani radars detecting it.

I am just saying.....

Who's to say they haven't already done so ?

May be the Chinese are already in Pakistan trying to find away around its stealth.

Good luck...For that is all that can help them.

amusing! isn't it?
I'm sure you are familiar with 'blood diomonds' in same way all about americans is bloody. At least chinese don't go around killing civilinas, kidnapping orphans of war and using them for their evil experiments ....which give them lead in technology.
Than america share dirty technologies with enemies of enemy.. bravo.
Just like terrorists have hands on all advance US technology and bin-laden is protected by americans. courtesy 'farenheit 9/11'

 

[Thomas]

amusing! isn't it?
I'm sure you are familiar with 'blood diomonds' in same way all about americans is bloody. At least chinese don't go around killing civilinas, kidnapping orphans of war and using them for their evil experiments ....which give them lead in technology.
Than america share dirty technologies with enemies of enemy.. bravo.
Just like terrorists have hands on all advance US technology and bin-laden is protected by americans. courtesy 'farenheit 9/11'

your views are pretty extreme even for this website.