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US Air Force works on plan for near-space vehicle
WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Top U.S. Air Force officials are working on a strategy to put surveillance aircraft in "near space," the no man's land above 65,000 feet but below an outer space orbit, Air Force chief of staff Gen. John Jumper said on Tuesday. Jumper said he would meet next Tuesday with the head of the Air Force Space Command, Gen. Lance Lord, to map out plans to get lighter-than-air vehicles into that region above the earth, where they could play a vital role in surveillance over trouble spots like Iraq. Jumper said the Air Force was working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to develop a stealthy aircraft without metal that could be equipped with special sensors and remain in the air for months at a time, keeping a watchful eye on specific regions of concern.
The fact that they are publicly talking about this program means it's ready to move out of the Black into the open
That would help answer the increasing need for persistent surveillance, which is difficult with current satellites, which circle the earth in orbit at altitudes above 188 miles 300 kilometres. Unlike satellites, the new breed of near-space aircraft could hover for longer periods in one area, and since they are closer to the earth, far fewer would be needed to maintain surveillance of the entire globe, Jumper said. He said this ability could greatly improve the military ability to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the future.
The U.S. military already has some aerostats, or blimp-like aircraft, in use to raise antennas and provide surveillance over U.S. bases in Iraq. But in near space, such aircraft could carry out radar and imaging missions, carry communications nodes and even potentially relay laser beams from a ground-based source against a wide variety of targets, industry sources said. Jumper gave few details, but said one of the remaining issues was dealing with such aircraft on the ground, where they can be unwieldy.
There have been reported sightings of a vehicle known as a "Big Black Delta" for years. This story appeared in August 2002:
A just released study by the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), based in Las Vegas, Nevada, sheds new light on the dark and mysterious craft. They offer a more down-to-earth hypothesis. NIDS researchers contend that these type vehicles are lighter-than-air, blimp-style craft of the U.S. military's making. Likely powered by "electrokinetic" drive, the lifting body-shaped airships have been skirting the skies from perhaps the early to mid 1980s.
NIDS has followed up on their study of last year that correlated sightings of large triangular or delta-shaped objects with Air Force Materiel Command and Air Mobility Command bases throughout the United States. Matches were made suggesting flight paths in and out of certain base locations. (snip)
To bolster their case about military airships being taken for UFOs, analysts at NIDS make a historical note. Lighter-than-air vehicles held all records for payload, distance, duration, and altitude within the first four decades of the 20th century - even with the advent of the airplane. In fact, save for rocket-powered research aircraft, like the X-15 and the space shuttle, all absolute altitude records are still held by high-altitude scientific balloons.
NIDS makes the case that Big Black Deltas, or BBDs, are U.S. Defense Department airships. They are so large they can carry massive payloads at low altitudes, cruising at speeds three to five times as fast as surface ships.
Among a range of NIDS observations, the group believes the BBDs are powered by electrokinetic/field drives, or airborne nuclear power units. These craft also fly at extreme altitudes, high above conventional aircraft and the pulsing of ground-based traffic control radar. Elecrokinetic propulsion means that no propellers or jets are used. A hybrid lighter-than-air craft would rely on aerostatic, lift gas, like a balloon. No helicopter-like downwash would be produced. Except for a slight humming from high-voltage control equipment -- and in older BBD versions an occasional coronal discharge -- a Big Black Delta makes no noise.
Put the two stories together and they make perfect sense.

Posted by: Steve 2004-12-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=51287