So the boys in blue, despite officially eschewing a supersonic aircraft for their Next Generation Bomber, and canceling the Blackswift hypersonic demonstrator, are still looking for something that flies faster than Mach 1 and carries bombs. (paid subscription required)If you're confused, that's what happens when you look at Air Force procurement programs recently. As Bill Sweetman notes, when talking about USAF procurement, "If your track record is Ishtar and Howard the Duck, and you tell me that you've got something that beats Gone With The Wind and Star Wars, you are going to have to prove it with more than a PowerPoint, or 'trust me, but it's secret.'"
They are looking at a tailless supersonic design, which would achieve the requisite broadband stealth, only, no one has gotten a tailless design to fly at supersonic speeds.
Basically, they are looking at advanced applications of fluidics for both the serpentine air inlets and the control systems.
Considering the drains of Iraq, Afghanistan, and now the US economy, and the complete lack of utility on the highest tech desires of the USAF, they have to smoking something pretty powerful.
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