The Navy's swimming spy plane

It'd cost on the order of total $ spent for the Stealth Fighter to get something like that actually flying!
 
Last edited:
Whatever it is....initial estimates will not nearly be enough. Navy will want hundreds, Congress will authorize probably twenty-five and production will slip years and years driving the pricetag up to the initial cost of hundreds. I get it now......B)
 
ausrere said:
Can you imagine the UFO reports if this thing was launched any where near the coast:
Click to expand...

Anyone remember a show called "The Flying Nun?"
It looks like the hat she used to fly in the show came off.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
It'd cost on the order of $ spent for the stealth fighter to get something like that actually flying!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't think so. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, it's just packaged differently. Subs have been able to launch and retrieve packages fo a long time, and the thing is small and doesn't have to support life, handling 5-6 atm pressure should be no great problems. It also isn't going to take vast quantities of titanium either since it's small. Stabilizing the launch timing of the rockets will have to be taken into account if you need to operate it in heavy seas, but I'm sure that some whizz bang engineer can code that out in a couple days.

I don't see where they would need to be more than 5 mil a copy over 100 copies. This wouldn't include the costs of integrating it with the submarine. Probably another mil, nor the payload, that's too variable.
 
I see it's made of titanium to resist corrosion. Didja' see the recent article about the sharp rise in titanium which is causing havoc in non-av industries? Several mfgs have said they cannot absorb the greatly increased costs of the metal and will either close or retool.

I'm with JRClough on this on. Too Buck Rodgers for me.
 
thats some pretty interesting technology
 
Damn, why couldn't they have some cool gadget like that when I was
riding a fast attack sub in the late 70's and early 80's? All we had to play with was one of the first test shots of the "New" Tomahawk and of course the Mk 48 torpedo, a couple of other things but I don know if it/they have been declassified .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top