Rumors of a classified aircraft commonly known as “Aurora” have spanned the decades… but is it really possible that the United States was operating a fleet of hypersonic aircraft in the 1980s and 90s?
This is Part 2 of our dive into Aurora. In Part One, we covered the evidence and witness reports of Aurora in America’s Southwest and over the UK. In this episode, we dive into the money to clear up some longstanding misconceptions about this program. And finally, we draw some logical conclusions about the truth behind Aurora.
Check out Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/J_r31ibMshA
Check out the incredible work of Rodrigo Avella on his website! https://rodrigoavella.com/
Or follow him on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/rodrigo.avella
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Further Reading
Original Article: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/was-americas-aurora-hypersonic-aircraft-real-we-get-to-the-bottom-of-it/
Classified aircraft programs ongoing: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/5-secretive-new-warplanes-the-us-is-developing-for-the-next-big-fight/
Boeing Bird of Prey: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/bird-of-prey-boeings-lost-stealth-fighter-once-prowled-over-area-51/
Darkstar and the SR-72: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/is-there-a-real-secret-aircraft-behind-lockheed-and-top-guns-darkstar/
Citations:
Bill Sweetman for WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1992/12/13/mystery-plane/0ab6ba1e-907b-4838-8516-0c38241f04a3/
PDE and RDE engines: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/darpas-new-missile-hints-at-truly-game-changing-technology/
Aurora Timeline: https://web.archive.org/web/20080725014630/http://www.aemann.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/aircraft/black/aurora/aurora5.htm
LA Times Aurora coverage in 1985: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-09-fi-4198-story.html
Sun Sentinel in 1985: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-02-09-8501050040-story.html
Ben Rich book: https://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Personal-Memoir-Lockheed/dp/0316743003
FY 1987 Budget: https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/senate-bill/2638
B-2 1995 Report: https://www.gao.gov/assets/nsiad-95-164.pdf
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What an excellent video!!! How about the StealthCat? A supposed retrofitting of the F-14 to be stealth and come back at the late 90s?
I live in Northwest Indiana and back in the early 2000's I was awoken late at night by a VERY loud sounding jet and the ground actually shaking like a small earthquake! I ran outside and could see a very large contrail in the night sky…
Perhaps Rotation Detonation Engines are further along then we're lead to believe…
The United States doesn't have the largest defense budget in the world. Russia's is 3 times larger. Russia's the world's largest superpower. America is only the largest medium power.
Another narrator who over-dramatises his speech.
Here's more fiction than fact – what a surprise!
Interesting video. I suppose many of the same theories could also be applied to the alleged existence of the Blackbird successor, the SR-72…If such a thing actually exists
You are WRONG my friend. Stop spreading misinformation. America flew a hypersonic aircraft DECADES AGO named the x-15. Just one of the newest hypersonic aircraft programs from America has been COMPLETED AND SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC…
https://youtu.be/pBIo-cRrzIM
I choose to believe they already have Aurora and the money they're dumping into these current projects are for a next-next generation craft that will be the equivalent of the Star Trek Enterprise. With warp engines, transporters, and hair accessories turned into visors for the seeing impaired.
I agree with your overall conclusions but I don't think dual mode scramjet engines are the same as the adaptive cycle engine being developed now – despite similar names.
I worked as an electronic engineer for weapons development and I think your videos are great. Keep up the good work.
I'm pretty sure we had an unmanned nuclear jet flying out of a facility at INEL in the late 80's
Dude it's called black budget there for you dont know
"outside the norm"
Yup, but we need a break from current affairs occasionally…especially as depressing as they currently are!
If “Aurora” was for stealth development and the B-2 was already well past development; perhaps it was early funding for the YF-22/23 proposals that were in competition in the late 80s and early 90s?
The name "Aurora "itself seems very mystical and may be part of the reason that this myth is still alive.
I have always seen there is a problem with mach 5+ aircraft that being surface heat at high speed. the other issue is stealth coating and heat.
Yes, there may have been a prototype 'aurora' aircraft but only to test aircraft flight and only at lower mach 3 plus speeds with experimental stealth coating.
When the stealth coatings failed, the project was mothballed until better coatings are found.
I believe there is one test aircraft, and it's stored and rarely used for testing.
Something is using JP7 fuel
Great video, Alex.
This is the common sense approach and exactly what I’ve always thought.
My grandpa worked on the f117 / B2 but wouldn't talk about his work except to say they were 20-50 years ahead of what we knew publicly. Those planes were subsonic radar absorbing bombers with traditional ceilings. Aurora would take suntan and oxcart to the next level, hyper sonic and operating in the ionosphere where the sound and radar returns would be non existent, also where the aurora is btw. Likely using hydrogen fuel but not in a scramjet. Supposedly the f19 design mirrors 3 aircraft built, 2 of them crashed. Also there is a readiness stipend, black budget and "2 trillion is missing" budget.
😉
I often wonder over this type of story if the US military “leaks” certain info just to panic Russia and/or China into spending tons of money on some unobtanium. It seems as though they both try to do the same to us. We know that the Air Force was more than happy to let people believe that the all of the prototype testing at Grooms Lake were UFOs.
When you said said “why is the government spending money to fund the development of hypersonic engines in the current time if they supposedly already had one?” That line hit hard. Boom it all makes sense. For me that line is the one thing I’ll need to confidently say “the hypersonic aurora aircraft is a myth”
Highly recommend Annie Jacobsen's astounding 'Area 51'
I'll poke a few holes in the story see if anyone thinks it's right or wrong, Government spending is subject to oversight, and has to be reported and somewhat disclosed to the taxpayer, government contracts to private companies are not as open. What government report and what they spend are not always the same, are you saying after Blackbird and B2, Nighthawk they just gave up and left any further development, I would say the X-37 was a result of the space shuttle and X-40A, so they made the Blackbird and just dropped spanners and left everything, I don't think so.
These people who say we have stuff which would not look out of place in Star Trek are they plugging a book full of stories or is there some element of truth, they have been developing laser technology for what seems like forever, we still don't have a pulse rifle in the 40 watt range.
I have worked on military sites and for the government and they spend money like it's going out of fashion, got to spend this money before the new budget starts, rightly in some cases replacing equipment which needs to be replaced, not so in every case, we have sites in every country all the details of what goes on and how much it costs is not always clear.
I have seen it fly. I was at Ft. Irwin in 1993 during a time when radar picked up a plane going hypersonic out of Edwards. It was dropped by a B-52. When the planes separated, the smoke from the B-52 was quite different than the string of white puffs that came out of the other craft. I had some very strong binoculars that helped see the dark arrow shape.
Loved this Alex!
Excellent research !! Well done. Another facet is that the rumors and 'sighting' can serve as disinformation easily picked-up by the soviets (at that time) without the CIA doing anything !! Hey, let's just let chatter in the private sector do the work for us !!
there was a famous composite image from a satellite of a plumed type of exhaust trail from nevada to china (the long, east) which resembles what you'd expect a pulse detonation wave engine. no idea if aurora worked but it was a project
Thanks for the video(s). Aurora is a really interesting topic, but your final conclusion is the same that I'd come to a long time ago.
Something I'd really appreciate you doing a deep dive into is a craft that has also had the Aurora moniker attached to it. I'm talking about the infamous TR3-B. Personally, I really believe this exists. What pushed me over to the believer side was an unexpected source that had firsthand knowledge of it. All I got when I asked if it existed was a, "Yes".
There are loads of videos and websites that talk about it as a real craft that has been flown (?), used for reconnaissance and even taken part in the first Gulf War.
None of these online sources are such that I trust what they say to be true. But some of the more believable ones have now claimed that the Air force has acknowledged it.
I think you mentioned it in this 2-parter, but I'd love to see what you can find on this unicorn of a plane.
i recommend ben rich's book ALL the time. "skunk works", available everywhere and on audiobook. no promo code, no affiliate link. just love aviation and i loved that book. and while you're here, might as well check out field of fight, lieutenant michael tyrone flynn's book. he knows way more than people give him credit for.
Ugh, I want my 17 minutes and 05 seconds back.
I'm not sure why people expected a fleet of mass produced aircraft when just a few would suffice, hide their existence from other counties, plausible deniability and be fast enough to reach their target in reasonable time.
Not to mention that we're hearing that hypersonics have been around long enough to be a "very mature technology".
While we're only NOW reaching the disclosure through public variants like the the SR-72/SR-91.
I have now watched both of your videos, there is so little facts here you really could have stopped at one vid. There are good photographs of triangular aircraft that you did not include here and should have. Basically if something can be photographed in flight then it exists.
Alex you sound like me in the 60s when I was a DJ at five radio stations. Have fun with it. I think with the X-37 doing well there was no need for Aurora. The plane is to link up with the ISS space station soon.
The TBR3 ?