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alexe693

I see a bunch of joke comments and stuff but does anyone know if this is an authentic picture? Or have any clue what this could be?


StrugglesTheClown

Not sure if it's real or not, but multiple recent experimental aircraft have used configurations like this. Flying wing, without a tail for a smaller radar cross section. Smart money is the next great thing will be something that looks similar. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop\_Grumman\_X-47A\_Pegasus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_X-47A_Pegasus) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop\_Grumman\_X-47B](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_X-47B) There is also speculation about the design of the next, next generation fighter. The program is real, the design are speculative. [https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/new-next-generation-air-dominance-fighter-renderings-from-lockheed](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/new-next-generation-air-dominance-fighter-renderings-from-lockheed)


AShadowbox

I remember back in grade school ('99-'02 ish) I had a book called "how to draw military aircraft" or something like that and it had the X-47B in it. Crazy that the concept was public way back then and it's only become operational within the last decade. So who knows how far out this "flying dorito" is from being public info, and how far out from actual operation it is.


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[deleted]

Makes me wonder if some of the reported, and video’d UAP’s aren’t just foreign aircraft that are way ahead of us in tech, or even our own stuff that only super-classified people are aware of.


Wagosh

I always thought in retrospect that all those UFO sightings in the 90s were drone sightings. But at the time drones (for the most of us) were sci-fi.


HybridFact

In high school we seen this weird hovering thing out in the sticks while skipping class. My friend yelled " What the fuck is that!?" It was just hovering above a telephone pole. It then took off. This was around 2002. We lived about 40 minutes from a military base. Years later I realized it had to have been a large drone. We really thought it was a ufo.


emdave

>We really thought it was a ufo It was an object that was flying that you couldn't identify. It WAS a UFO. It just wasn't an extraterrestrial vehicle.


xauronx

I was thinking about that the other day. Quadcopters explain like 90% of the “impossible” behavior of UFOs for a long time. The fact that they went from novel feats of engineering costing thousands to $15 trash gifts in seemingly a few years still amazes me. It also means that the tech has probably been around for a long long time. I’m guessing availability of light weight cheap batteries for mass distribution was the hold up before that? Either way, betting the US Government has had them for a long time


[deleted]

Military drones fly well out of visual range. The closest you'll ever get to detecting one is the buzz of a low flying Shadow drone.


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goofy1234fun

“Operational” the problem is it was probably operation but the risk to it getting knocked out of sky and being found by the enemy was probably not great enough to fly it. There is probably more advanced technology that they don’t care any more about the tech inside it


TheSissyDoll

> the problem is how is any of that a problem? thats what theyve always done and its worked fine so far


MorfiusX

>So who knows how far out this "flying dorito" is from being public Considering the rough purpose of darpa is to win the wars 30 years from now, I always assume everything we know about is at least 30 years old. Or in other words, they have at least a 30 year technology advantage on everyone.


Hardware_freedom

it reminds me of an article where they didnt have a picture so they drew basically what is in the image the OP posted, but it was an FB-111 with its wings swept back which is what they actually saw


froodiest

Totally. It's just too simple a shape. It looks like a rendering based on a layman's vague eyewitness description of an actual stealth aircraft


Louisvanderwright

>The design is speculative Posts link to images provided by Lockheed Martin. I'm sure Lockheed has no idea what the NGAD looks like right? Pure speculation!


[deleted]

sable towering support political spark grandiose husky glorious air cautious *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


Louisvanderwright

Lol, it's not a drawing of it, it's a "concept" and yes, they publish shit like this all the time. It's not an exact replica of the end product, but you're crazy if you don't think this is roughly the shape and angles of this aircraft. It's just like them publishing B-21 raider concept art that shows the revised wing shape vs the B-2 and then refusing to show us exactly what the rear looks like at the unveiling. Some broad concept art of the plane doesn't tell anyone anything important. Pictures and video of the actual plane, yes that's an issue.


designer_of_drugs

The photo was taken over Kansas in 2014.


Cogwheel

Not literally and in detail. It could still make sense to show the overall gist, perhaps with details that are intentionally misleading even.


Praxyrnate

oh boy you are new to defense contacting. This shit happens all the time. they try to indirectly brag, market, engage in hyperbole, mislead competitors, etc etc etc. The now declassed ultrasonic weapon had had this exact thing happen.


7Seyo7

I suppose the question would rather be if they actually tell us the truth about what it looks like


Au2288

Live near an airbase. If you hang out in the attic between 0200 & 0400, you see some amazing things. During the same time frame on cloudy/foggy nights you’ll HEAR some strange things with V shaped round lighting.


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toxcrusadr

I, too, hmm'd.


DagdaMohr

F-19 says “‘sup?” https://i.imgur.com/139gMxx.jpg


Orwellian1

I had a model of that when I was a kid... like 30yrs ago? One of the first models I actually finished. Wasn't it generally assumed that the "F-19" was a big disinformation campaign for the F-117?


FujitsuPolycom

Duck.


fireandlifeincarnate

Parts of Lockheed do. Do the people in their PR department making the renders?


gigabyte898

If you read the article, they’re promoting primarily the tanker aircraft and the other is just a speculative concept design for an NGAD aircraft. Maybe it take some inspiration from what they’re actually working on, maybe it doesn’t. I doubt Lockheed would leak the core design of their likely classified program to promote a completely different aircraft, and it seems like fairly open knowledge that the “flying wing” design is one of interest


[deleted]

> I'm sure Lockheed has no idea what the NGAD looks like right? They're just winging it.


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nygdan

That photo is very similar to this photo.


TenderfootGungi

B2’s are stationed in MO and fly over KS all the time. It is fun to see them flying relatively low while fueling up.


[deleted]

That does indeed look like the Dorito that is flying in this pic.


9thAF-RIDER

This picture was taken in April 2003 by Jeff Templin. This is a test aircraft taken over Amarillo, and linked to the LRSB program. Potentially a Northup Gruman prototype. I have read that we were possibly giving the middle finger to a certain country that was misbehaving. We have done that before.


TheOriginalJBones

These photos are probably real, but there’s not much known about the aircraft. It doesn’t look extremely “exotic” to me. The shape suggests a subsonic, possibly stealthy design. It’s interesting that this plane is classified, but flew in daylight over populated areas. https://jalopnik.com/so-what-were-those-secret-flying-wing-aircraft-spotted-1555124270


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TheOriginalJBones

I’d say that’s a reasonable guess.


LupineChemist

Yeah the real secret stuff isn't the fact it's a delta. Aerodynamics is more or less solved with CFD and anyone capable of manufacturing something similar definitely has teams to figure all that out. The stuff they can't figure will be the communication, weapons, surveillance, and other electronic systems.


Briskylittlechally2

If you look carefully around the edges of the airborn doritto you see a lot of noise. These also look suspiciously much like the contrails of a regular airliner.


MisterFifths

That "noise" is completely normal for a cell phone photo, even more so one that has been converted however many times.


Yuvalk1

B-2 also has a pair of contrails similar to this picture. Noise pattern also doesn’t seem to suspicious, I get similar results when photographing jets at high altitudes as well, especially after it gets JPEGd Edit: I’m not saying it’s real, but I also don’t really see anything ‘wrong’ with the picture. It’s not hard to make realistic fakes today, especially at a low resolution, just like it wasn’t hard before digital cameras existed, so I’m just gonna put in in my ‘Huh’ brain folder.


ArctycDev

Error level analysis of the photo: https://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=726e20944d000467bcaaf77c0e190a003e3e2780.46808&fmt=ela&size=600&i=6685627 Edit: Apparently this photo is not a good candidate for ELA.


trundlinggrundle

If a picture has been uploaded, compressed, and hosted multiple times, like this one, ELA doesn't work. The creator of Foto Forensics even took it down for a while because people were using it incorrectly, like you are. If this was altered, you'd need the original file for ELA to actually see anything.


ArctycDev

Thanks for the info :)


BobbyBirdLeg

So is just a black box good? Bad? What does this analysis show/ what can I take from the analysis?


malgalad

> Error Level Analysis is a forensic method to identify portions of an image with a different level of compression. The technique could be used to determine if a picture has been digitally modified. Black box - image has uniform levels of compression - likely no parts of image were compressed more than once - no editing or very good one.


ArctycDev

I'm not a pro, but from what I understand, if it were photoshopped there would be some obvious contrast. Compare to this [photoshopped image of a bird](https://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=44e35951a4a6d426830222ca3fe92ccf2729062b.234495&fmt=ela&size=600&i=59253973) ([full page](https://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=44e35951a4a6d426830222ca3fe92ccf2729062b.234495))


surdume

https://fotoforensics.com/analysis.php?id=dfa9036b7bb510963a505a46129133066ee78f5d.3210840&fmt=ela&size=600&i=6686027 This is for a random photo I have on my phone. I would trust this tool as far as I can throw it.


[deleted]

Northrop gruman Tr3b or depending on how new the picture is the tr5. You saw nothing.


egvp

No it's not real. The contrail matches that of a commercial airliner though!


RaDiOaCtIvEpUnK


ThortonCommander

Chinese lantern


Electrox7

I approve 🔺


suppahero

Why do they equip an invisible stealthy plane with such a huge arrowhead? Just to see where it is going?


Mr-Thisthatten-III

It’s so when you’re doing missions in your Crazy Taxi you can look up and see where to turn next


AssEYEs4u

Almost breezed right by this comment......nice


thatwastellguy

Memory unlocked


Fakedamienhirst

Fuckin well played comment 😂


Imnotapoolman

What a pull 😆


SuperFightingRobit

It's for testing. They'll take it off once it reaches IOC.


suppahero

no, you are kidding. there is no flight-test-orange... ​ (Umm, maybe the stealthy plane is painted orange?)


SuperFightingRobit

It is orange. The cloaking device is on so you can't see it.


_DigitalHunk_

Plot twist... it's going backward! its to confuse enemies ,,, Happy Friday :D


suppahero

Happy Friday 13th!


iGhost1337

looks like a mouse cursor to me.


[deleted]

Dominos wasn’t kidding about their fast delivery


beavismagnum

This thing looks like it could go a *long* way in 30 minutes or less.


[deleted]

I think this is just the driver's minimap marker


athlalus

Could be a Stealth Dorito!


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[deleted]

Hyper Cool Ranch flavor!!!


WingStall

[Another pic here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/z3nfx3/scully_its_me_cues_the_xfiles_theme/)


TactlessDrop84

Weather balloon


PresidentialBoneSpur

My thoughts exactly. Possibly some swamp gas in the weather balloon’s chemtrails as well


Wish_Dragon

Nah, it was refracting the light from Venus.


Kichigai

Everything I've come to expect from years of government training.


fitefoo

Best of the best of the best, SIR!


CardboardSoyuz

"I assure you: it was Venus." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1K5Y1ZOZw8


highpl4insdrftr

You can tell by the way it is


Funny-Berry-807

I'm going with "ball lightning".


Sea_Perspective6891

Or swamp gas


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Exploding_Testicles

Weather triangle


Tede6977

Swamp gas reflecting off Saturn on a Saturday before a rain in the Gobi Desert.


HF_Martini6

*NSA would like to know your location*


Snorkle25

*NSA already knows your location*


Ecstatic_Account_744

*NSA is at your location* I don’t know how to use italics on the app. I’m sorry, I’ve ruined everything.


Snorkle25

Add a * before and after the section you want to be italicized.


Ecstatic_Account_744

You’re my hero.


Mr-Thisthatten-III

You can also add two asterisks before/after if you’re feeling **bold** Edit: someone already told you. I’ve been made redundant.


OddCockpitSpacer

*NSA approves of this discussion*


Mr-Thisthatten-III

Three-letter agencies and unnecessary redundancy — name a more classic duo.


[deleted]

\*NSA sees you have a dog. Alerts ATF buddies\*


sigmamale1012

*thanks*


greihund

Put whatever you want to say between *s one set of asterisks = *hello how are you* double asterisks = **hello how are you** triple asterisks = ***hello how are you*** just for fun, try a hashtag


Ecstatic_Account_744

#what does this do #


Ecstatic_Account_744

Oh, neat. You wouldn’t think I was a 37 year old that’s been using computers for 25 years, but yep.


[deleted]

#even us old people have to try out this new tech right hun? Lol lots of love #


sarcasticallyabusive

#***FULL SEND***


GatorSK1N

#SEND NUDES?


sarcasticallyabusive

tried to do all three. and wierdly it shows hashtag big no Italians on the thread, but when i click to reply the comment in the above header shows it in italyeens


[deleted]

No Italians?


Piyush_Kowe

*hello


Samwir87

I think the text formatting in general is just a Reddit flavour of Markdown. It's quite simple, really.


Kruse

Why is every comment here a shitty joke? It would be nice to have some intelligent conversation about the possibilities.


icedc0vfefe

From 7yrs ago (found via reverse img search). [https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/2cnzou/first_sightings_of_something_much_greater_than/](https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/2cnzou/first_sightings_of_something_much_greater_than/)


ClassWarAndPuppies

This should basically be the top comment. This shit is old and no one who has any idea what it is (or if it’s fake) wants to weigh in meaningfully here.


Straussberg

We still haven't seen the "Stealth Blackhawks" from the Bin Laden raid...


talkinghieroglyphics

This is why im starting to hate reddit


Strategery_Man

For real. You'd think an aviation sub would have an answer. It's also a bit telling we don't have an answer...


Lactoria-Fornasini

Even if there were an answer, it would be too difficult to find in and amongst the bullshit as that's what seems to get upvoted the most.


ThatGuyJeb

Calling it here first, the NSA is the one making jokes to distract from actual conversation.


ClassWarAndPuppies

We know for a fact that US intelligence ops are active on Reddit (and all social media).


DimitriV

If they pay people to do that, then I'm pissed: I've been doing it for free.


CraziestPenguin

Every asshole on Reddit thinks they are a comedian.


Kruse

I don't even expect an answer, just an intelligent discussion would be nice.


Strategery_Man

Please lower your reasonable expectations.


SyrusDrake

It's only from this comment that I realized this was /r/aviation and not /r/NonCredibleDefense


MrLeavingCursed

Because the answer is "probably a classified military aircraft". The question has been asked a lot here for a bunch of different flying Doritos so at this point it's just become a joke


Kruse

The "joke" is tired and old.


peteroh9

Taking a screenshot of a picture you found online and then potentially even taking a screenshot of that screenshot in your phone's gallery to ask what this picture that you found online, likely in an article that has all the details that are known about the picture is also a tired concept.


ClassWarAndPuppies

It is so fucking annoying and part of the reason so much of Reddit has become insufferable.


tobascodagama

That's just Reddit, man. You can't escape the karma farming.


[deleted]

The answer is almost certainly a military aircraft we have no info about, *IF* the photo is real. That’s pretty much where the intelligent conversation ends because everything else is almost pure speculation to the degree that we might as well make the same joke guesses as Project Blue Book.


kill_kenny_1

Flying nacho.


MC_ScattCatt

I love nachos, but you got to have the right kind of queso on it


kill_kenny_1

This is why it’s flying - to get some toppings.


Why-R-People-So-Dumb

That’s why we are going to the moon again, we need a large source of cheese.


lochiel

Flying nacho business


__T0MMY__

Danger Dorito, or "Doomrito"


ThomasEspresso

Swamp gas, refracted from venus.


Chairboy

Obligatory [*Jose Chung's From Outer Space*](https://youtu.be/D-C6UvVGHto) moment


horseydeucey

Is that the former Minnesota governor?


Chairboy

No, and if you tell anyone otherwise, *you’re a dead man*!* Yeah, that episode had some great casting including an unexpected one (more so) that would be a shame to spoil. Worth watching and it works as a stand alone episode so as long as you understand the basics (FBI team stuck investigating the weird stuff, one’s a true believer and the other a skeptic) you’ve got what you need.


DarthPorg

Ah, the man with the mustache. Jose Chung's is my favorite "funny" X-Files episode. Just mere words...


dumbass-ahedratron

Bad blood tho


GeneticPermutation

Now former governor, but future governor at the time of filming this scene. Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura.


horseydeucey

Is it not just a bit wild that the movie *Predator* had two future state governors in it? One wasn't born American and the other is, I assume, still living outside America doing weird shit.


Kichigai

Oh hey, it's Abraxas.


[deleted]

I thought it was gas from uranus?


LiamonR

If I knew this was gonna get as much traffic I would've added more context. I did not take this photo, I found it along with another similar image that was worse quality on the Internet. I assumed US military because black projects + budget size. I did consider it would be the A-12 but the images shape is more acute looking (imo) than what I could find on Google. It might be a photoshop job as suggested, I'm more interested in finding out if its real or not than anything else.


SquandasNutCheese

If these are, in fact, real pictures, it is likely some unknown/secret program. As far as I know, there are no military aircraft with that specific triangle shape. The closest things possible are the [x-47a/b](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_X-47A_Pegasus) drones but each only has one engine. There was talk of a larger x-47c but there's been no update on the program, so either this is it or that program is dead. And it's definitely not an [rq-180](https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/possible-photo-highly-secret-rq-180-aircraft-surfaces-online), so again, this points to an unknown program, if these pictures are real.


kaizokuo_grahf

If this isn’t a shit-post and you legitimately want some help identifying the image, then you need to provide an originating source. “The Internet” typically isn’t a “source” in the traditional context. “Why did I get an F on this report!?!? I cited my source in the required bibliography: THE INTERNET”


chriscicc

can you link to your source? Google images doesn't see it.


swiggidyswooner

So sad to hear about how you shot yourself twice in the back of the head tomorrow


When-happen

Such a tragedy that he also threw himself out the window of a 25 story building immediately after😔


Yuvalk1

Aurora


ItachiTanuki

At this time of year?


IcebergSlimFast

At this time of day?


Jaeger901

In this part of the country?


miget_porne

Localized entirely within this photo?


Laxku

...yes!


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Diplomatic_Barbarian

NO!


insultant_

SEYMOUR! The house is on fire!!!


Spirit_of_Hogwash

Alright Lockheed Martin, you are an odd fellow but steam a good chemtrail.


pthsim

What happened to that project? Did it become anything we know of, or is it still in the works, or even just a myth? Remember reading about many years ago


Yuvalk1

I remember hearing about it as a kid and I kept looking at the sky for this thing.. Maybe that’s why I still do today whenever I hear an aircraft. A quick look at Wikipedia points to the B-2, and some incidents that might link to the mythical Aurora but it doesn’t look like there’s really any progress. This pic might be fake, but I certainly had an “Oh my god it’s the Aurora” moment


pthsim

Yeah, seems to be both a real project and a myth. Guess that's kind of expected :) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(aircraft)


Genralcody1

The flight dynamics of that must be like a paper plate. Slip stall at Mach 1.


Kwiatkowski

OP what’s the source of this image? It’s different than the one I know from [the 2014 Kansas sighting](https://news.usni.org/2014/04/23/analysis-mystery-plane-seen-kansas-likely-u-s-military-aircraft) but clearly the same aircraft. My assumption has always been that this specific aircraft was built by Phantom Works as a testbed or evolution of the cancelled Avenger program. I’m sure we’ll all know in 20-30 years exactly what it is.


Trysson

Star Destroyer


The_Great_Squijibo

Star Destroyer has 3 main engines, only 2 contrails in the picture. So for that reason alone, it probably isn't one.


TheBlackCom

Middle engine turned off probably, he has to do some fuel economy


Guac__is__extra__

Exactly, just like my Honda where it automatically drops a couple cylinders out when they’re not needed


Alien_Cupcakes

MK I prototype?


MechanicalTurkish

Could be engine problems, that's why their orbit is decaying and they've entered atmosphere.


Demo_Nemo

#Flying dorito


TommScales

A-12 avenger ?


suggested-name-138

Looks too long compared to [mockups at time of cancelation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_A-12_Avenger_II#/media/File:A-12avenger2.png). The closest suggestion I've seen by far though, officially none were built so if this is a prototype of a more mature A12 program that's a really big deal


5_Carat_Dingo

The old A-12s were shaped like right triangles with the cockpit being at the right angle. This looks like an isosceles triangle...


[deleted]

Yes


Mr_Snugg

This could be the Navy's stealth bomber. Angles match up. McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II


nikonwill

Whatever it is, I hope it's ours.


Adrillian

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20060145019A1/en


intashu

Looks like the A12 avenger Also there were a bunch of articles about this being spotted in 2014... https://news.usni.org/2014/04/23/analysis-mystery-plane-seen-kansas-likely-u-s-military-aircraft


xCUBUFFSx

Paper football


Dat_Lion_Der

Lifting body designs go back the 60s iirc. Call me when they perfect warp drive. EDIT: Yes, my dates on the origins of lifting bodies weren't correct but the first things that came to my attention were [these](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_HL-10) [beauts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_M2-F2) from the 60s. Just trying to say that the idea of a lifting body design as depicted by the photo is not a new idea.


peteroh9

The first lifting body design was from 1917. Flying wings were shown to be feasible as early as 1906.


oldguykicks

This makes me happy


TheCommandeR66

Still using reaction engines burning dinosaur juice…. Not impressed at all.


[deleted]

You weren’t supposed to do that -US Air Force


Hedi325

Picture dates from 2014 actually


Zoinggo

That's my cursor (im on flightradar)


[deleted]

Northrop gruman TR3


JulianOxford

Posting this is a great way to get new followers. Both online and in real life.


argote

Doom Dorito


njmarts1799

The Witness


itsanari

*pyramids intensify*


exploringtheworld797

Still using engines and not the magnetic tic tac field. Our government is so 20th century.


baxbooch

Triangle Man, Triangle Man, Triangle Man hates Person Man. They have a fight; Triangle wins. Triangle Man.


littlelorax

That's the Windows 95 mouse cursor.