Rumors of a new British super-stealth, super-fast aircraft code-named HALO (High Altitude, Low Observable) gained strength recently when a Lancashire photographer accidently caught a possible image of one while shooting snow-covered landscapes on the moors. The triangle-shaped object mysteriously appeared in one of his photos.
"The strange thing was, the object made absolutely no sound," said the startled photographer, who wishes to remain anonymous. "It was a clear, still day, and if it was a conventional aircraft I would have heard it."
The photographer said he noticed a slight movement in his viewfinder while shooting, but when he looked up, he saw nothing unusual. He was unaware he had captured the image until he developed his film. Then he found a small silver triangle in the center of one frame. At first he thought it was a film defect, but later examination suggested the film was fine.
British UFO researchers were quick to claim this as the first photo of HALO, Britain's alleged entry into the realm of super-stealth warplanes. Rumors say the HALO is an unmanned, radio-guided prototype of a craft intended to represent the next generation in stealth reconnaissance, a major advance over currently operational American stealth aircraft such as the F-117a fighter and the B-2 bomber. Both of these aircraft sacrifice speed for their low observability. The next generation of stealth will be the first to go supersonic. Some experts expect the new planes to be hypersonic, able to fly in excess of 3,000 miles per hour.
Planes capable of such speed may already be flying. Some people associated with the SR-71 Blackbird program have said, unofficially, that that 1960s-era super-plane could fly over 3,000 miles per hour, although its official top speed is about 2,500 mph. The alleged, and still officially denied, follow-on to the Blackbird, code-named Aurora, has been said to fly in the Mach 8 regime, over 5,000 mph. Respected civilian aerospace experts in both Britain and America insist the Aurora, or something like it, is flying, despite heated government denials. However, no one claims the Aurora is a stealth aircraft.
If HALO exists, it may be the first prototype to combine hypersonic and stealth performance in one airframe. True to form, the British government denies any such plane.
But British UFO researcher Mark McAndrew hailed the new photo as "proof that the British are developing a Stealth-type aircraft which makes the American version look like an Airfix kit [model airplane]."
McAndrew further noted that "hundreds of triangle-shaped UFOs have been reported all over the country, especially along the Lancashire coast and in the Northwest" in the last several months. So numerous are sightings of these triangular craft in the UK, in fact, that they've earned a nick-name: "Silent Vulcan."
"Eyewitnesses have told of a silvery triangle-shaped object about 30 feet long , with no wings or visible engines," McAndrew said. "Others have spoken of the object being escorted by two Tornado jets. The object flies like no other aircraft we have ever heard of. It stops in the sky, hovers, then shoots off at an amazingly high speed."
Such performance, if true, would be inexplicable in terms of known human aircraft design.
Rumors state that the HALO is being developed at a British Aerospace facility at Warton, Lancashire. Sketchy details of the HALO project have appeared in the respected British publication Janes Military Aircraft, which estimates that 100 million pounds may have already been spent in development of the HALO. Furthermore, Janes says, "British Aerospace are urging Government go-ahead for Stealth demonstration in 1997, production aircraft then to be available in 2013 with international collaboration likely."
This, however, is a very long development cycle, and a very small investment so far, for a plane that may already be in the air.
With stiff denials from British Ministry of Defence and British Aerospace concerning the existence of HALO, anyone who reports the craft will, of course, be reporting a genuine UFO.
Original file name: CNI - Brit super-plane.final
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