One of two stealthy Scaled Composites Model 401 “Son of Ares” Jet It was recently spotted landing at the Mojave Air and Space Port, and while there’s still something interesting to see, The now-familiar belly pod Installed under the front part of the fuselage. A whimsical depiction of a shark with what appears to be a laser on its head, referring to a famous scene from her comedy Mike Myers in 1997 Austin Powers – Indicates that it is related to some kind of directed energy system.Exactly this war zoneis the date we first reported on this change nearly two years ago, which we assumed earlier. here.
Twitter user @Task_Force23 A shot of the aircraft, which had US Citizen Registration Number N401XP and was using the call sign “Scat 71” at the time, was obtained on October 16th and was kind enough to share with us. L-39 Albatross jet trainer gauntlet aerospacewas observed flying near N401XP carrying N-number N25PX, possibly acting as a tracking aircraft or as part of the test itself.
The most eye-catching addition to the N401XP is theShark with funny laser beams Scaled Composites, a renowned cutting-edge aerospace design firm now a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, is famous for adding sarcastic markings to its aircraft.
The art of the N401XP’s abdominal pod definitely references the scene in the clip below from the 1997 film. Austin Powers.
In fact, the nickname “Sons of Ares” for these jets, also a nickname for Phobos and Deimos, sons of Ares, the god of war in Greek mythology, is a reference to an earlier experiment in Scaled Composites. Agile, responsive and effective support Jet confirmed by (ARES) “Best Dad in the World” graphic Found in an old aircraft in 2018. You can read more about it here. At various points, we also saw the ARES jet, which Scaled Composites continues to use for testing purposes. “Chemtrail Tank” labeled Teasing that conspiracy theory and the satellite communications dome over the painted fuselage looks like R2-D2a droid popular with fans of the Star Wars franchise.
The pod seen on the N401XP yesterday looks more or less unchanged since it was first spotted on that aircraft in October 2020. It features a wide intake link front, two small antennas (one black and one below and one white below) and a large exhaust pipe. It is located at the rear, which slopes downward.
Also added to the laser shark motif painted on the side is a warning label that says “JET BLAST – DANGER” with an arrow pointing to the exhaust nozzle. This suggests that the exhaust system is connected to some sort of auxiliary power unit (APU), but there are other possibilities.
A new photo of the N401XP on October 16 doesn’t clearly show the right side of the pod, but the bottom view clearly shows that the opening that was there two years ago is still there. increase.
Otherwise, the N401XP appears to have nearly the same external configuration as it did at least two years ago, including a noticeable “hump” or “bulge” just behind the ventral pod of the fuselage. increase. The aircraft has two additional antennas on either side of the underside of the nose. At least one of these new antennas, along with another seen on aircraft in 2020, are mounted in distinct sections of the nose.
It’s not clear from the photos from two years ago whether this “severed” nose was also present on jets.
Beyond a clear connection to some sort of laser-directed energy system, it remains unclear how the ventral pod was specifically designed to function. It’s possible, but it’s not clear where the emitter is going. A possible possibility is that the laser is directed out of the right aperture. Buried in the pods and aircraft overhead bays can hold his APU, which is used to power the lasers independently. So this could be a side-firing emitter, with the air intake in the front, the exhaust in the rear, and the APU recessed in the bay above. Although this is a very compact and intriguing installation, it is not clear how the high heat loads associated with high power lasers will be managed.
Again, it is likely that we will see components associated with tertiary emitter systems planned to be installed elsewhere on the aircraft, such as where the pilot is currently in the unmanned variant (hence the more direct Call back with Dr. Evil’s shark head laser). It’s also possible that the jet doesn’t actually carry any lasers per se, and the pod artwork merely indicates that the plane is somehow being used to support laser-related research work. It’s been two years since he first appeared, and with a highly customized installation now, this seems unlikely. And such lasers could even be sensor-related rather than laser weapons for shooting down hostile targets, for example.
The two Scaled Composites Model 401s themselves were originally developed to demonstrate a variety of advanced, rapid and low-cost design and manufacturing techniques and to serve as a demonstration support aircraft for a closed program. Since then they have been employed for various testing purposes.In this role, the aircraft will Regularly seen reconstructions It is used for a variety of tasks and is often seen in flight tracking applications that work with Concert with the company’s high-flying Proteus testbed jet.
“Following the expansion of the initial performance envelope, both aircraft are undergoing payload development testing for various customers.” According to the Scaled Composites website“The aircraft can incorporate a variety of payload systems with an internal payload capacity of over 80 cubic feet and a payload weight capacity of up to 2,000 pounds.”
It is currently unknown if Northrop Grumman plans to sell the Model 401, or any variation or derivative thereof, to the general public in any configuration. But given that the company showed reporters a mockup of an unmanned version last year, it seems very likely that this is the case — an all-new drone variant known as the Model 437. You can read more about these developments. here.
The Model 401 has a feature that is very useful for certain laser applications. Its high dihedral wings provide such payloads mounted under the fuselage with a wider than horizon-to-horizon field of view without the need to bank.
The basic design of the aircraft is well suited to allowing it to roam a specific location for a long period of time at low speed, while allowing it to pass to and from specific points at high jet speeds. An unmanned configuration not only eliminates the mission duration limitations that a human pilot might impose, but may offer other unique features to the overall mix.
There are definitely various lasers and potentially laser-related development efforts that the N401XP could fly to support this configuration with an underbelly pod. Encountering hurdles over the yearsthe U.S. Air Force in particular, has many active programs focused on developing airborne lasers for use as offensive and defensive weapons.
Of course, there is no confirmed connection yet between the N401XP configuration with ventral pods and either of these programs, or any other airborne directed energy weapon effort.
As war zone As noted in 2020, whatever the purpose of the N401XP-mounted laser system, it may also be relevant to work on its ability to protect against such directed-energy weapons. Not long ago, one of his Son of Ares jets was spotted. with a mirror-like coatingMirror-Like Finish Comes In Multiple Forms To Stealth Air Force F-22 Raptors, F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, and F-117A Nighthawk and the US Navy’s F-35C all belong to the testing and evaluation community for these services. here.
The ventral pods seen in N401XP may also be related to something else entirely. Yes, it could also be a misdirection or a reference to a previous article, but that seems highly unlikely. The pods that were used are even more likely to have something to do with lasers than before.
As time goes on, the Model 401 will likely prove to be more vital in future air warfare than most people expected, and will continue to dominate production aircraft, laser-equipped or not. may even generate.
Please contact the author: jOe@thedrive.com