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☆ China's latest supersonic spy drone looks a lot like the Lockheed D-21 that crashed there in 1971
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The aircraft, shaped like a dart and painted black, was a D-21 supersonic reconnaissance drone. Ultimately unsuccessful, the drone would be relegated to the annals of aviation history if not for the appearance of a strikingly similar Chinese drone unveiled at a recent military parade. AdvertisementThis is what we know about the high-flying Chinese spy drone and the D-21 upon which it could be based. High altitude, high speedLockheed's solution was to create an unmanned high-altitude high-speed reconnaissance aircraft with similar capabilities as the A-12, but much smaller. A WZ-8 reconnaissance drone is on display at the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition on September 28, 2021 in Zhuhai, China.

Persons: —, Francis Gary Powers, Dwight Eisenhower, Marquardt, Bill, Ray Torrick, Chen Xiao, Benjamin Brimelow Organizations: Service, Air Force, 4200th Support Squadron, Andersen Air Force Base, Business, Lockheed Corporation, Soviet, White House, CIA, Central Intelligence Agency, Lockheed's, Works, Redesignated, Navy, US Air Force, Chinese Aviation Museum, Davis, Monthan Air Force Base, 13th China International Aviation, Aerospace, US National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency, 29th Air Regiment, People's Liberation Army Air Force's 10th Bomber, Global Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, Diplomacy, Modern, Institute Locations: Guam, China, Soviet Union, Soviet, Yunnan, Beijing, Tucson , Arizona, United States, Zhuhai, People's Republic of China, Liuan, Korean, Taiwan, Pacific, West

☆ Ford says it has a ‘Skunk Works’ team trying to make lower-cost EVs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Ford says it has a top-secret, high-powered team working to design its future electric vehicles. Electric vehicle sales increased by 40% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to Cox Automotive. In a study released late last year by S&P Global Mobility, almost half of people surveyed globally thought EV prices were too high. “We developed a super-talented ‘Skunk Works’ team to create a low-cost EV platform,” Farley said. By dubbing its own operation as a “Skunk Works” team, Ford is seeking to put the scale of the matter front-and-center.

Persons: CNN — Ford, ”, Yanina Mills, Ford, Jim Farley, ” Farley, Tesla Farley, Tesla, Farley, Alan Clarke, EVs Farley Organizations: CNN, Tesla, Audi, Mercedes, Ford, Cox Automotive, P Global Mobility, United Auto Workers, Skunk, Lockheed, Skunk Works, Reuters, Works, Hyundai, Ford Pro, EV, EVS Locations: China, Asia, Europe

☆ NASA moves forward with plans for supersonic planes that could fly from New York to London in 1.5 hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NASA asked private companies to figure out how to make commercial supersonic flight "a reality." Mach 2 to 4 planes, flying up to 3,045 mph, could be used on 50 established flight routes, per NASA. This comes as NASA is starting to test its own X-59 supersonic plane to make sonic booms quieter. To make supersonic flight a reality, it needs to become quieterThe news comes as NASA begins testing its own supersonic plane. NASA/Lockheed MartinThis is an important experiment because non-military supersonic flight over land has been banned by federal regulations for over 50 years in the US.

Persons: Northrop Grumman, Mary Jo Long, Davis, Lockheed Martin, John Wolter, We're, Peter Coen Organizations: NASA, Service, Boeing, Northrop, Concorde, Technology, Lockheed, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Quesst Locations: Wall, Silicon, London, New York, Palmdale , California

☆ 3 spy aircraft that were also 'weather balloons'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Blake Stilwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China has said that it is a weather balloon that has gone off-course. It wouldn't be the first time that a spy balloon has been described as a weather balloon. China is probably just taking a page out of the US government 1960s-era cover-up playbook that we'll call: The ol' "Weather Balloon Dodge." Thomson ReutersThere's a reason the Department of Defense believes China's weather balloon is actually a reconnaissance balloon: The DoD is developing reconnaissance balloons of its own. If any of the massive balloons get forced down, they'd just be another weather balloon, which the National Weather Service still uses.

☆ 15 years after 'officially' retiring its first stealth jet, the US Air Force is looking for help to keep the F-117 flying for another decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The B-21 is expected to arrive 40 years after the US's first stealth aircraft, the F-117 Nighthawk. The F-117 was officially retired in 2008, but the Air Force is still putting the stealth jet to use. The US Air Force is now making plans to keep some of its Nighthawks flying until at least 2034. The Air Force currently has about 45 F-117s, more than 10 of which have been approved for transfer to museums, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told Insider. A woman dances on a US Air Force F-117 downed west of Belgrade on March 28, 1999.

☆ X-59: NASA’s ‘quiet’ supersonic plane revealed
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-25 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —If you’ve heard a sonic boom recently, you probably remember it. Now, NASA is working to change those regulations by transforming the boom into a “thump,” paving the way for a new generation of quieter supersonic aircraft. It’s set to take off for the first time later this year, ahead of its first quiet supersonic flight. “It will be significantly quieter than Concorde or any other supersonic aircraft that exist today,” Craig Nickol, senior adviser at NASA Headquarters, told CNN in 2022. However, it’s doubtful that any of them will be able to take advantage of the findings of the Quesst program, which will likely inform the next generation of supersonic aircraft.

Persons: you’ve, Lockheed Martin, It’s, ”, Pam Melroy, ” Craig Nickol, “, ” Nickol, Lockheed Martin Skunk, Christine Groening, there’s Organizations: CNN, Concorde, NASA, Mach, Lockheed, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, “, Armstrong Flight Research, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Oklahoma City, US Federal Aviation Administration Locations: Palmdale , California, coalescing, Edwards , California, Oklahoma, New York, Los Angeles

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