From:      skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu
To:        skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu
Subject:   Skunk Works Digest V5 #289
Reply-To:  skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu
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Skunk Works Digest          Sunday, 4 June 1995        Volume 05 : Number 289

In this issue:

	Re: Dark Star

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: ijb@unb.ca (Ivan Baird)
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 1995 12:12:44 -0300
Subject: Re: Dark Star

At 5:29 PM 6/02/95, Byron Weber wrote:>Did I hear right?
>
>About 6pm, June 1, 1995, a CBS affiliate radio station in Los
>Angeles announced the disclosure of a Lockheed-Martin, Skunkworks,
>unmanned stealth recon vehicle named the Dark Star.  Max. 8 hours
>flight time, alt. 45,000 ft. (max.alt.still classified), subsonic
>speed 250 mph with on board computer.  Just caught the end of the
>release, something about tail less.  Searched several newspapers
>today, not one word.  Us Skunk enthusiasts must be in the minority.

This reprinted from America Online (without permission), which also
included a photogragh:

WASHINGTON (June 1) - DarkStar, an advanced aerial reconnaissance
drone, was shown in public for the first time Thursday, the Defense
Department said.

The drone was unveiled at the Lockheed Martin plant in Palmdale, Calif.
The plant, known as the "Skunk Works," has developed many advanced
aircraft for the military, including the U-2 high-altitude spy plane.

The unmanned drone is designed to send back information on ememy
locations to field commanders. It can operate at ranges of up to 500
nautical miles from its launch site at an altitude of more than 45,000
feet for over eight hours.

"DarkStar will provide affordable, near real-time, continuous,
all-weather, wide-area surveillance in support of tactical commanders,"
the Pentagon said.

"The result will be timely information that the tactical commander can
immediately exploit for accurate situational awareness and to perform
precision strikes and other high-priority intelligence and
reconnaissance tasks," it said.

Lockheed and Boeing are jointly developing the drone, which is expected
to cost $10 million each.

The first flight of the drone is expected before the end of the year
with flight testing to be completed by mid-1996.

- --
Ivan Baird, CET
University of New Brunswick (at Home)
Micro/Systems Technical Specialist
ijb@unb.ca      SR75Aurora@aol.com
Have a Good One!!!



------------------------------

End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #289
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