RED ARROW: This is very reminiscent of the radar diffuser/mesh grill found on the first generation stealth F-117A Nighthawk. This is a key point as the RQ-170 most likely was designed using rapid prototype efficiencies, commercially available subsystems, and a balance between low observability and risk to national security in mind. This is what I call “expendable stealth.”
Bob said that the drone is the wrong color. Have you ever been in a gym with sodium lights and wood floors? All whites can look beige, especially with the odd white balance metering in modern SLR and video cameras. To me the color is a non-issue
BLUE ARROW: Although the airframe is generally intact, the leading edge has been scuffed and even perforated in some areas. This is a tell-tail sign of a hard, but flat landing.
RED ARROW: Why nobody has taken the high-resolution photo files and put them into Photoshop to blow out the details is beyond me. A huge tell in whether or not this thing is real or a fake would be what lies behind the intake radar diffuser. In this case it appears to be exactly what should be there, a jet motor with possibly some type of radar blocker covering the fan face. If this was a hastily designed mockup I seriously doubt the Iranians, who had full control of what images were released, would have formed such a smooth inlet and actually placed a motor inside. This is possibly the largest piece of evidence found during my analysis. Sometimes it actually pays to be a professional photographer in these matters because you can utilize basic editing tools to bring out details that are not apparent in the images in the state that they are distributed.
YELLOW ARROWS:
When the same picture is filtered, converted to black and white and cropped down we see some sort of seam filler covering something that seems to be designed into the airframe’s leading edge. The black tape is also a mystery but this contoured covering material is there for a reason. Is there a radar array imbedded behind this, similar to the B-2? Or are these possibly antennas for the aircraft’s ESM suite?
Blue & Yellow Arrows- Once again, in this picture you can see that stray line that emanates from the bottom left hand side of the access hatch closest to the intake. But on closer evaluation it is apparent that this is most likely a piece of tape sealer that is come up on that edge. Further, an outline of some degrading tape sealer seems to be viewable along the area where the black “screws” are visible. In other words, it looks like these apparent defects are actually just that, defects, and not “drawn on” to the machine to make it look more realistic and representative of the photos available on the net. There may very well be an operational use for indicating where the panel and it’s screws lie underneath a sealant of some type for future maintenance access. So basically this went from a deal breaker for me to an area in question, but in no means a total disqualifier, as the photos available do not show close enough detail to rule one way or another. This looks very much like the seams and slight variances in color and texture seen in the low quality photos captured out of Kandahar of the RQ-170. Further, these tape sealers or antenna cowlings really run with normal stealth manufacturing still seen today, but its especially prevalent on 20-year-old designs such as the B-2 Spirit. The taping and treating of service panels and radar reflective joints is also the notorious reason as to why operating stealth aircraft is so cost prohibitive. Its simply very time-consuming to constantly have to keep up the stealth coatings, especially in high use areas like access panels. Once again, nothing here is definitive but it’s also not a disqualifier in any means.
This is far and away my favorite picture of the lot. Although it does not offer particularly exciting evidence like the enhanced intake shot, it does show how large and elaborate this machine truly is. I have heard “experts” talk a lot about how this thing is way to small compared to their expectations. But the dimensions given by the Iranians of about 26 meters wide with a length of 4.5 meters and height of 1.84 meters puts it exactly where it should be based on the pictures taken at Kandahar over the years. In some shots it was maybe 40% higher than a runway marker, that is pretty damn short, so this specimen makes perfect sense. In addition, flying wings are very deceiving size wise at first glance. Side-on the B-2 looks about the size of a F-111, head-on it looks like a monster, and from above it looks like a flying pancake, so just because something as unfamiliar as a flying wing looks small from a certain angle, it is in fact not small at all, and offers a tremendous amount of volume for fuel and payload. For me, this picture really puts it over the edge. If the aircraft is indeed a fake, it is a finer prop than Northrup Grumman’s X-47B full sized mockup that is used to sell their UCAV concepts.
WHY I THINK ITS REAL:
-The fact that there appears to be a motor behind that radar diffuser/mesh grill and a well designed intake leading to jet’s fan face or radar blocker is a detail that did not have to be included for a hoax. This is a pretty hardcore detail that the Iranian’s did not have to provide for simple photographic proof regarding the issue.
-The intake radar diffuser/mesh grill is an interesting add-on to the story and does make a lot of sense with that design. Its dated technology, something that goes along with the “expendable stealth” mindset, and would help reduce any radar returns within the engine inlet. Further, in many pictures taken prior to the incident the inlet appears almost solid in nature. Given strange anomalies with lower end cameras and camera phones, under tough lighting condition this would explain this appearance and it would also explain why the inlet appears black under darker light conditions.
-The damage along the leading edge lends itself to a hard landing in a field, possibly one where the gear collapsed. Remember, as a flying wing, when the aircraft lands hard it has a much lower chance of “digging in” and performing somersaults and tearing itself apart. It spreads its weight along all that bottom surface area making it possible that it could land in a field without destroying itself. At least there is damage present and the omission of the undercarriage would help explain this.
, oops $150 million mistake
