Penton's Aviation Week Uncovers New, Classified Unmanned Aircraft Flying at Area 51
The aircraft is currently flying at Area 51 in the Nevada desert and will become operational by 2015.
NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2013 -- In an exclusive cover story, Penton's Aviation Week, the largest multimedia information and services provider for the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries, reveals details about a highly classified intelligence and reconnaissance stealth unmanned aircraft, the RQ-180, that has been developed in secret. The aircraft is currently flying at Area 51 in the Nevada desert and will become operational by 2015.
The U.S. Air Force has long debated how to conduct penetrating intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. But despite the need and a lingering requirement, no visible progress toward that goal was made - because the highly classified RQ-180 had been developed in secret by Northrop Grumman.
The December 9th article written by Senior Pentagon Editor, Amy Butler, and Senior International Defense Editor, Bill Sweetman, details how the RQ-180 was designed to help the Air Force travel where other unmanned aircraft have failed to fly - deep into heavily defended airspace. The article provides some details about the technology that allows it to maintain stealth and explains how the unmanned aerial system fits into the Air Force's family of aircrafts.
The piece is available on AviationWeek.com. Follow Aviation Week on Twitter and Facebook.
About Aviation Week
Aviation Week is the largest multimedia information and services provider for the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries. Industry professionals rely on Aviation Week for analysis, marketing and intelligence. Customers include the world's leading manufacturers, suppliers, airlines, militaries, governments and other organizations that serve this global market. Aviation Week produces data and analytics services including the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), industry-leading events around the world, as well as ShowNews and Business & Commercial Aviation.
About Penton
For millions of business owners and decision-makers, Penton makes the difference every day.
We engage our professional users by providing actionable ideas and insights, data and workflow tools, community and networking, both in person and virtually, all with deep relevance to their specific industries. We then activate this engagement by connecting users with tens of thousands of targeted providers of products and services to help drive business growth. Learn more about our company at www.penton.com.
Featured Product
The ERT150 - Dorner's Next Evolution of Edge Roller Technology Conveyors
The next evolution in Dorner's Edge Roller Technology conveyor platform, the ERT®150, is ideal for small and light-load assembly automation, as well as medical and medical-device assembly application. The ERT platform is the only pallet conveyor of its kind available with an ISO Standard Class 4 rating for cleanroom applications. Earning the ISO Standard 14644-1 Class 4 rating means Dorner's ERT150 will conform and not contribute to the contamination of cleanrooms to those standards. As implied by its name, the ERT150 (Edge Roller Technology) uses rollers to move pallets through the conveyor smoothly with no friction (a byproduct often seen in belt-driven platforms). The conveyor's open design eliminates concerns of small parts or screws dropping into rollers and causing conveyor damage or jamming. The ERT150 is suited to operate in cleanroom environments requiring a pallet handling conveyor. It is capable of zoning for no or low-back pressure accumulation and is ideal for automation assembly applications within industries including medical devices, electronics, consumer goods among others.
