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Drone

 

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Mentioned on site Blogs at Special4u

 

 

 

http://www.liberation.fr

 

http://www.liberation.fr/recherche/?q=drone

 

http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/defense/2009/12/un-drone-myst%C3%A9rieux-%C3%A0-kandahar.html

 

01 Dec 2009

 

Un drone mystérieux à Kandahar

 

Cliquer ici pour voir la photo ci-dessous

 

  

 

http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/.a/6a00e008d663eb88340120a6ee283e970b-pi

 

Quel est cet engin, photographié récemment sur la base de

Kandahar, dans le sud de l'Afghanistan ?

 

Un drone assurément et de nouvelle génération qui plus est.

Selon un témoignage, l'engin sort peu et regagne aussitôt

un hangar américain. Pour le reste, mystère !

 

Le magazine en ligne «Unmanned Vehicles»

évoquait en avril dernier ((2009), un

«mystery UAV operating in Afghanistan»,

un drone mystère opérant en Afghanistan.

 

Il ressemblerait au P175 Polecat de Lockheed-Martin,

mais il s'agirait d'un autre modèle de drone de combat

américain, même si certains envisagent qu'il puisse s'agir

d'un modèle britannique.

 

«Air et Cosmos» avait évoqué un tel programme secret

(black program).

 

«Unmanned Vehicles» a publié une vue d'artiste de cet engin,

qui est reproduite ci-dessous.

 

 

Cliquer ici pour voir la photo ci-dessous

 

  

 

 

http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/.a/6a00e008d663eb88340120a6ee38d7970b-pi

 

(Photo publiée sans garantie sur son origine, impossible à vérifier)

 

 

 

 

 

http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/defense/2009/12/le-drone-secret-am%C3%A9ricain-sinspire-dun-projet-de-la-luftwaffe-en-1945.html

 

08 Dec 2009

 

Le drone secret américain s'inspire d'un projet de la Luftwaffe en 1945

 

Cliquer ici pour voir le dessin ci-dessous

 

  

 

http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/.a/6a00e008d663eb883401287630af89970c-pi

 

Le drone furtif RQ-170 Sentinel, dont l'US Air Force a reconnu

l'existence vendredi à la suite de la publication d'une photo sur

ce blog, ressemble étrangement à un projet de la Luftwaffe de 1945 :

le Horten Ho 229. Il s'agissait d'une aile volante pilotée et propulsée

par deux réacteurs. Son envergure était de 16,76 mètres et son poids

maximum de 8 tonnes.

 

Un prototype, sans propulsion, vola comme un planeur le 1er mars 1944.

Cinq furent construits, mais l'avion n'entra jamais en service.

 

Deux appareils furent capturés par les Américains, ainsi que les plans.

Ils furent évalués par Northrop, qui construira plus tard des ailes volantes

dont le célèbre bombardier furtif B-2.

 

En 2009, les experts de Northrop Grumman ont reconstruit l'un de ces

appareils.

 

La National Geographic Society s'est intéressée à ce projet, lui consacrant

un reportage très complet que l'on peut visionner ici.

 

Rédigé le 08 Dec 2009 à 16:30

 

Lien permanent

 

 

 

 

http://www.liberation.fr/monde/0101607307-le-drone-furtif-americain-demasque

 

08 Dec 2009

 

Le drone furtif américain démasqué.

 

Défense. La publication d’une photo de l’appareil sur Libé.fr

a obligé les Américains a en confirmer l’existence.

 

Par JEAN-DOMINIQUE MERCHET

 

Il volait, mais il n’existait pas. Du moins officiellement,

jusqu’à ce que l’US Air Force reconnaisse l’existence

de cet appareil secret, vendredi l’aviation américaine

n’avait guère le choix: une photo de ce drone, un avion

sans pilote, avait été mise en ligne trois jours plus tôt

sur le blog Secret-défense de Libération.fr.

Difficile de nier plus longtemps l’évidence.

 

Interrogée par le magazine américain Aviation Week,

l’Usaf a confirmé qu’elle mettait bien en œuvre un drone

sous le nom de RQ-170 Sentinel.

 

L’aviation américaine indique avoir «développé un drone

furtif pour fournir des capacités de reconnaissance et de

surveillance aux forces déployées».

 

Il est mis en œuvre par le 30e escadron de reconnaissance

(Nevada) sur la base afghane de Kandahar.

 

Aile volante. C’est un engin espion, aux formes furtives,

qui lui permettent d’échapper à la détection des radars.

 

Il ne semblerait pas armé, comme peuvent l’être les drones

classiques.

 

D’une vingtaine de mètres d’envergure, il se présente sous

la forme d’une aile volante, comme le bombardier furtif B-2,

ou le projet de drone de combat Neuron, développé par

Dassault-Aviation.

 

Le RQ-170 est sorti des ateliers de Lockheed-Martin,

les célèbres «Skunk Works», où ont été produits le U-2,

le SR-71 ou le F-117, des avions espions ou furtifs qui ont

parfois volé durant de longues années, avant que leur

existence ne soit reconnue.

 

Cette discrétion des aviateurs américains a donné naissance

à toutes les légendes entourant la «zone 51», célèbre pour

abriter l’homme de Roswell!

 

Une première photo de ce drone secret, très floue et lointaine,

avait été prise en 2007, ouvrant la porte à toutes les spéculations

sur cet objet volant non identifié.

 

Cette fois-ci, le cliché ne laisse aucun doute. Il a été pris récemment

sur la grande base alliée de Kandahar, dans le sud de l’Afghanistan,

à partir duquel il opère.

 

Libération, via son blog Secret-défense, a obtenu cette image,

dont l’origine ne peut pas être précisée pour des raisons de

protection des sources.

 

Depuis une semaine, les spécialistes de l’aéronautique

s’interrogent sur ce drone. Sa forme en fait un engin furtif, or, la furtivité

ne semble pas vraiment nécessaire pour évoluer dans le ciel afghan.

 

Jusqu’à preuve du contraire, les talibans et autres insurgés ne disposent

pas de radars et de missiles sol-air sophistiqués.

 

Des drones classiques (Predator ou Reaper américains, Harfang français)

volent tous les jours au-dessus du pays, sans risques.

 

Cela pourrait donc signifier que ce drone espion est utilisé pour des

missions discrètes au-dessus de pays disposant d’une défense aérienne:

 

l’Iran? le Pakistan? L’est de la Chine?

La transparence du Pentagone ne va pas jusque-là.

 

(1) http://secretdefense.blogs. liberation.fr/defense/

 

 

 

 

http://secretdefense.blogs.liberation.fr/defense/2009/12/lus-air-force-d%C3%A9voile-son-drone-secret-cest-un-rq-170-sentinel-.html

 

 

 

 

http://www.nurflugel.com/Nurflugel/Horten_Nurflugels/Horten_Biography/body_horten_biography.html

 

Horten Biography

 

Who were the Hortens, and why haven't we

heard more about them?

 

Reimar and Walter Horten were two brothers

who were born and raised in the Germany of

the early 20th century.

 

This was an exciting time for aviation, as almost

everything was new, and there was plenty of

room for new designs.

 

Being blessed with parents who supported

their efforts (to the extent of having the dining

room become part of the construction site!),

Reimar was fascinated by the idea of airplanes

which consisted solely of a wing, without the struts,

wires, wheels, and various surfaces which

dominated the airplanes of the day.  

 

Click here to see the photo below.

 

    

 

Walter Horten with a tailless model in 1929

 

 

 

Click here to see the photo below.

 

  

 

Walter and Reimar with the Horten I

 

 

 

Click here to see the photo below.

 

  

 

Models of the Ho II, Ho III, Ho IV, and Ho Vc

 

 

 

Click here to see the photo below.

 

  

 

Reimar Horten

 

 

 

Click here to see the photo below.

 

  

 

Reimar and Walter Horten

 

 

 

The War Years 1939-1945

 

Walter spent the first six months of the war

as fighter pilot on the western front, flying a

Me 109 in Fighter Squadron No. 26. My other

brother, Wolfram, fell at Dunkirk when his He 111

was shot down. I was also trained as a Me 109

pilot, but later in August 1940, transferred to the

glider pilot school in Braunschweig.

 

Here, 80 two-place "Kranich" sailplanes were

being modified to carry ammunition during

"Operation Sea lion", the planned invasion of

England. 5  Ho III b's  and 2  Ho II's  were also

to be modified. This became my task.

 

Operation "Sea lion" was eventually cancelled,

which gave me the opportunity to start on the

next project, the Ho IV. Work continued until the

school was moved to Königsberg in December.

 

Meanwhile the Ho V had been parked in the

open since the start of the war, and was

deteriorating fast. We finally managed to get

permission to have it repaired in August of 1941.

 

The building of the Ho IV continued in Königsberg,

and the aircraft was completed in just eight months.

 

An Ho III b was being built in Bonn, that would

be converted to a "d" model, with the installation

of a Walter Micron engine.

 

The Air Force wanted a test aircraft for the

new Schmitt-Argus pulse jet engine, and

inquired about using the Ho V.

 

As the thrust of the engine was in excess

of what the aircraft could handle, a new,

heavier aircraft with similar features was

proposed.

 

This would be the Ho VII, a fully acrobatic

two seater, with provisions for the jet engine

between its two pusher propellers.

 

The Ho VII would also be an excellent training

aircraft. One prototype was ordered from the

Peschke factory in Minden.

 

The Ho VII with Air Force designation 8-254,

was soon completed, but did not receive the

pulse jet as planned, and remained a training

aircraft. The Peschke plant needed additional

work, and soon six Ho III's were in production.

 

Using parts from surplus Ho III b's, one model

"e" with VW engine, three "f" s with prone pilot

accommodation and two "g" two seaters were

completed.

 

Our next project was a large aircraft with 120 ft.

span and six engines. This Ho VIII would have

two fuselage pod configurations one for cargo,

the other build as a flying wind tunnel.

 

Unfortunately, no contract was received to build it.

 

In March 1943, the performance curves and

installation drawings for the Junkers 004 jet engine

came into our hands. Walter had seen the Me 262,

and obtained data that had previously been kept

secret.

 

Work on the Ho VII was put aside, as we eagerly

sought to submit a proposal for the 1000-1000-1000

jet that Reichsmarshal Goering had requested.

 

Our proposal was accepted, and the Reichsmarshal

ordered the first Ho IX (8-229) to be flown within six

months.

 

The Ho IX contract generated a flurry of activity

that none of our workshops could handle alone.

Thus, the work was spread out, and efficiency

suffered. For flight tests, a Ho III was modified

with 60 sweep back to become the Ho XIII a,

and two high aspect ratio Ho Vl's were built in

Aegidienberg for "middle-effect" testing.

 

Despite the hardships, the Ho IX V-1 flew in

March 1 as a glider, precise on schedule.

The jet powered V-2 was scheduled to fly

three months later.

 

After the first successful flight of the Ho IX V-2,

the Ho VIII project was approved, and the aircraft

was half finished when the war ended.

 

The production contract for the Ho IX was awarded

to the Gothaer Waggonfabrik.

 

Our final contract; to develop a six jet long range

bomber, was received on March 12, 1945.

 

The Argentina Years

 

Working conditions in Argentina were even

more difficult than in Germany during the war.

Spruce and thin birch plywood were not available;

inferior local materials had to be used.

 

Glue was the largest problem. The General in

charge of the Institute had ordered that the

glue be prepared in the chemistry department.

 

By the time it reached us, it had started to harden,

and was mostly spoiled. Several aircraft were lost

due to glue-failures.

 

The destiny of a new prototype was also peculiar:

No sooner had it flown before the Public Relations

Department had it sent off to some remote village,

where it would be on display in a park until grass

started growing from the wings.

 

Afterwards it was ready for the salvage yard.

Nine sailplanes were produced under these

rather difficult circumstances.

 

Reimar Horten passed away in 1994.

He is survived by his widow.

 

Walter Horten was living in Baden-Baden.

He passed away on December 9, 1998.

 

 

More notes from Douglas Bullard

 

http://www.nurflugel.com/nurflugelhomepage/index.html

 

 

 

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