A snapshot of what could be the Air Force’s spy drone surfaced on Instagram. Suspiciously, the image was taken down soon after it was posted. Don’t worry, people of the Internet are very fast when it comes to saving receipts, and the image has been archived and reposted on Twitter. The photo depicts a flying wing-shaped aircraft , as Popular Mechanics details:
According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, the aircraft “was flying in a racetrack pattern at an estimated altitude of 20,000 [feet].”
The mystery aircraft, as Kolinsky points out, does indeed look like the new B-21 Raider bomber. The B-21 Raider is a new strategic bomber under development by Northrop Grumman.
The U.S. Military currently operates the RQ-4 Global Hawk for high-altitude reconnaissance missions, but the plane lacks the stealth to allow it to operate near modern air defenses. In June 2019, Iran—not exactly a giant in the world of air defense—shot down an RQ-4 in the Strait of Hormuz. It was a wakeup call for a Pentagon that relies on persistent surveillance of adversaries as an early warning system.
The Air Force has never publicly acknowledged the RQ-180’s existence. In early 2020, the service sought early retirement for more than two thirds of the 35-strong RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet. This is a curious decision considering the platform is relatively young, with the average age being less than 10 years. It’s not so curious, however, if there’s a newer, stealthier replacement for the giant drone already flying.
Image via Popular Mechanics
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Presumably a drone, Not a fighter, as teh aspect racio indicated to hith roll time.. the slightly swept wings indicte subsonic operation.. still no fighter... The engine or the engines close to the centerline leaving no place for extensive bomb bay indicate that it is presumably not a bomber and not a close air support or attacker role... 20000 feet is enough to get you out of the range of MANPADS... The IR signature should be low enough to avoid thermal lock on.. the radar cross section should be low enough to make radar lock on significantly difficult.. With no high speed or high maneuerability, it may easily operated from a remote pilot. Not to be used withotu air supremacy.. as the contrails may easily guide enemy fighter to their targets...
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At 20,000 feet and generating a contrail, it's not stealthy at all. On top of that, since it was on Instagram there's not much point in forcing it to be taken down. Clearly that didn't stop it from popping up here. Besides, you just know real spies take much better photos and send them back home instead of posting them online.
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