18 April 2009

General Atomics Rolls Out Stealthy Predator C

David Fulghum and Bill Sweetman post their observations, most of which are obvious from the top picture, edge alignment, a serpentine inlet, a flattened exhaust nozzle, and a lack or right angles for stealth, along with a roughly 10 foot long weapons bay, more than enough for 500 lb JDAMS, or Hellfires, etc., and some wing to accommodate the higher speeds that the jet engine can generate.

There are some more pictures here, and you can also look through the Aviation Week gallery.

The aircraft has been designed with folding wings and a tail hook (bottom pic), which implies that it is intended to be operated from an aircraft carrier at some point, and this is clearly an early prototype, as the current air data probes, and the antenna/sensor on the bottom of the fuselage (also bottom pic) appear to be decidedly non stealthy.

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