While China has been hitting the headlines with revolutionary aircraft in the past few years, there’s a reminder the U.S. isn’t standing idly by. A video has hit social media showing an odd, obviously stealthy shaped object being towed on a trailer at Lockheed Martin’s secretive Helendale Radar Cross Section test facility in the Mojave desert. It’s not clear if it’s a full planform or just parts of a future aircraft but it has captured the attention of those who keep tabs on secret aircraft programs. The fact that it was being moved during the day in front of someone clearly taking a video of it suggests it’s not a super secret thing. Video of the trailer ride follows and comes with a salty language warning.
The video: pic.twitter.com/Unhq9lsHwE
— Ruben Hofs (@rubenhofs) September 22, 2021
While secrecy is part and parcel of much of the activity on the high desert, there’s been a dearth of sitings of new aircraft while China has publicly flown at least three new designs in the past year or so. This would appear to be the first time this shape has appeared in public and whoever shot it clearly had business at the facility and was surprised to see it. It was first posted to TikTok and reposted by secret plane spotter Ruben Hofs.
That shape was first show 4 years ago
Could it be a $5 million patio cover left out in the sun too long?
This is the new Frito Lay shape testing for maximum flavor reflection.
I learned a long time ago that the government lets us know what they want us to know.
Russ,
Thanks for bringing AvBrief to us. It’s a bright light in today’s dark news scene.
In the interests of accuracy in future reporting, I believe it’s TikTok, not Tic Tock. I had to look it up.
Cheers, David
If it was seen in broad daylight, that’s not its shape.
I believe it was “accidentally” seen to make the Chinese wonder what we might be working on.
That’s nothing new. It’s just the flying sub from Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.