Country of origin |
United States |
Entered service |
2005 ~ 2010 |
Crew |
2 ~ 3 men |
Dimensions and weight |
Length |
~ 20 m |
Main rotor diameter |
~
17
m |
Height |
~
5
m |
Weight (empty) |
~ 6 t |
Weight (maximum take off) |
~ 11 t |
Engines and performance |
Engines |
2 x turboshaft engines (?) |
Engine power |
around 2 000 shp each |
Maximum speed |
~ 300 km/h |
Cruising speed |
~ 250 km/h |
Service ceiling |
~ 6 km |
Range |
~ 600 km |
Endurance |
2 ~ 3 hours |
Payload |
Passengers |
10 ~ 12 men |
Payload capacity (internal) |
~ 2 t |
Payload capacity (external load) |
3 ~ 4 t |
Armament |
Machine guns |
provision for machine guns (?) |
Missiles |
provision for AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank and AIM-92
Stinger air-to-air missiles (?) |
Other |
provision for pods with unoperated rockets (?) |
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A couple of
years ago a top secret US helicopter emerged. It is commonly
referred as Stealthy Blackhawk or Silent Hawk, however these are not its original names.
This helicopter was first observed in 2011 during a raid in
Pakistan, that took down Osama Bin Laden. At least two helicopters
were used during that raid and carried US Navy SEALs. During the
operation one of these helicopters was damaged, became inoperable
and made a hard landing. After the operation the SEALs blew it up
with explosives. However tail section of the stealthy helicopter
survived. There were absolutely no official comments
regarding this helicopter. The whole
development program and any official details on this stealthy
helicopters are kept in high secrecy.
It is
believed that these stealthy helicopters have been used by elite
special operation forces for years without the public's knowledge.
And it seems that all of their missions were successful, or at least
all secret helicopters managed to return to their bases. Black paint of
this helicopter, as well as other design features, such as reduced
radar cross-section and low noise levels indicate, that these special
forces helicopters are intended to operate at night, when it is
difficult to spot them. These helicopters
operate fast and at very low altitude in order to avoid detection by radars.
It seems that these stealthy helicopters used only on highest
priority missions.
Some say
that the ghost helicopter is a heavily modified version of
the
Blackhawk. However the wreckage of the tail section bears no
resemblance to that of the the MH-60 Blackhawk, that is typically used by
the US special forces. So likely that this stealthy helicopter has an entirely
different design.
It is
possible that this stealthy helicopter evolved form the cancelled
RAH-66 Comanche. The Comanche was a stealthy reconnaissance and
light attack helicopter, developed since the early 1990s. It had a
stealthy airframe built largely of composite materials and a number
of other advanced features. A couple of working prototypes were
built, that demonstrated exceptional performance. At the time the
Comanche was a revolutionary step in stealth technology. However the
program was cancelled in 2004. The US Department of Defense
promised to use its technology for future projects. However an
official program for a stealthy transport helicopter was never
publicized.
This
secret helicopter has special rotor design that significantly
reduces noise levels. Wreckage of the tail rotor shows, that this
helicopter uses smaller blades. Also the tail rotor is shielded by
disk. It looks like noise of this helicopter
easily blends into any background noise. The helicopter is so
silent, that adversaries might not even react, until it is too late.
Neighbors of the Bin Laden told that they didn't hear the
helicopters approaching until they were directly overhead.
The general
shape of what was left on the crash site indicates, that the
helicopter has harsh angles and flat surfaces. Looks like it is made
of special high-tech materials similar to that used in stealthy
aircraft. This secret helicopter was obviously designed to
have reduced radar cross-section. Its shape and coating absorb and
distort radar beams. It is likely that the rotor blades also some
kind of radar absorbing or distortion features. Radars of the Pakistani defense
forces did not see these helicopters coming in.
This
helicopter is operated by a crew of two or three men, including two
pilots, and possibly gunner. It can transport around 10-12 fully
equipped passengers. Such stealthy transport
helicopters allow commandos to sneak up on their target.
Most likely
that this helicopter carries some sort of armament to support
dismounted troops. It is likely that it has provision for
door-mounted machine guns. Also it is possible that it can be fitted
with pods with unoperated rockets, as well as and air-to-ground and
air-to-air missiles, such as
AGM-114 Hellfire and
AIM-92
Stinger. Rockets and missiles can be carried inside special
weapon bays, or on stub wings.
It is
possible that this special forces helicopter has an in-flight
refueling probe. This feature is present on many American special
forces helicopters, such as the MH-60.
It is likely
that some parts of the wreckage form the crash site ended up in
China or Russia. It is known that both of these countries are trying
to make stealth aircraft.
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