USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Attack Group
 

Here's a shot of the USS Kitty Hawk and its support ships on manuvers.

Air Vehicle #1
 

Here's a shot a new fighter the Navy is testing aboard the USS George Washington. And a pic of the test pilot! She can test my engines any day!

This is bullshit, it's going to be part of a movie from what I understand, but it's in no way a Test Fighter, especially with some split tail in the cockpit!

I say where is the recruiting office I want to sign up for her seat belt adjuster machinestmate.

Kitty Hawk
 

I was on the Kitty Hawk when this photo was taken. This was a show of force during the Irnian Hostage Crisis. I was with HS-8 then. The carriers are the Kitty Hawk, The Midway, and the Nimitiz who releived us. I remember the USS Texas as one of Nimitz escorts. The photo is in the Indian Ocean where we steamed within 15 miles of Iran with this show of force. It was a magnificent sight then, and is still a magnificent site. I also have a picture of this at home.

Carrier pictures of secret new stealth fighter?-Fiction!
 

Subject: New Plane July 17, 2004

Forwarded without comment, except that a woman, Lt. Kara Wade, is apparently the test pilot for the project.

We received the following pictures but have no information about their authenticity.

Lt. Kara Wade (Character) from Stealth (2005) and is played by actress Jessica Biel

Director:Rob Cohen

Writer (WGA):W.D. Richter

The plane in these pictures is air vehicle number 1, a prototype on board the USS Washington for catapult fit checks. Not yet made public, the F/A-37 is a Mach 3.5, super cruise stealth fighter/bomber/interceptor with a 4000nm range. Top speed is classified, some where in the Mach 4 plus range. Awesome! Also, there is no phase interval for this plane. It has a 10,000 hour life airframe and engines that require replacement only at failure or signs of trouble. The squadrons are to be out of Whidbey Island, 12 planes to a command.

Cockpit Zoom
This cockpit features Jessica Biel as Lt. Kara Wade, and lots of extra room for multi-angle "in-flight" camera angles.


Too Good to Be True
Rumors began circulating in 2004 that a "new, secret aircraft" was being tested on board the USS Washington. With lightning speed, the rumor-mill went into overdrive, and speculation went wild that this new aircraft was some type of fighter/bomber/interceptor capable of speeds in excees of Mach 4.

The aircraft shown in photos above is sleak and futuristic -- and if you think that it looks like something off a sci-fi movie production set, then you're right. This aircraft, dubbed the FA-37 Talon Stealth Fighter, is the star-prop in the sci-fi/action thriller "Stealth" due out next year.

Rumor: "The plane in these pictures is air vehicle number 1, a prototype on board the USS Washington for catapult fit checks. Not yet made public, the F/A-37 is a Mach 3.5, super cruise stealth fighter/bomber/interceptor with a 4000nm range. Top speed is classified, some where in the Mach 4 plus range. Awesome! Also, there is no phase interval for this plane. It has a 10,000 hour life airframe and engines that require replacement only at failure or signs of trouble. The squadrons are to be out of Whidbey Island, 12 planes to a command."


The Stealth Movie
The only lead we're given from the photos is the pilot's name, "Lt. Kara Wade", shown emblazoned below the cockpit glass during what was claimed to be a "dry run" fitting to ensure that the aircraft could be launched from a carrier deck. However, Lt. Kara Wade isn't real either -- she's the character played by Jessica Biel in the upcoming movie.

The movie is a Columbia Pictures/BackBreaker Films Production entitled "Stealth", due out in May 2005, and starring Jessica Biel, Josh Lucas, and Jamie Foxx (produced by Rob Cohen).

The Aircraft Carrier
In this case, the aircraft carrier is the only real aspect of the photos above -- but its the wrong one! It's not the "USS Washington", as claimed in the rumor, but actually the USS Abraham Lincoln. Every other aspect of these photos are just set-photography, mockups, and special-effects taken during filming.

The Remaining Question
The military often leaks information to the press to prepare the public for what's next -- rumors of the Stealth-fighter were rampant during the classified years before it became

Here's the link to Snopes about the Bullshit jet on the USS Washington:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/a37.asp

I sent the snopes link to my friend who sent me the photos. He'll be disappointed, too.

I checked this out on Scopes and it didn't come up with anything, so here goes:
 

How It Works: The Flying Laser Cannon

http://www.popsci.com/military-aviat...e-laser-cannon

Boeing's new laser cannon can melt a hole in a tank from five miles away and 10,000 feet up—and it’s ready to fly this year

Creating a laser that can melt a soda can in a lab is a finicky enough task. Later this year, scientists will put a 40,000-pound chemical laser in the belly of a gunship flying at 300 mph and take aim at targets as far away as five miles. And we’re not talking aluminum cans. Boeing’s new Advanced Tactical Laser will cook trucks, tanks, radio stations—the kinds of things hit with missiles and rockets today. Whereas conventional projectiles can lose sight of their target and be shot down or deflected, the ATL moves at the speed of light and can strike several targets in rapid succession.

Last December, Boeing, under contract from the Department of Defense, installed a $200-million prototype of the laser into a C-130 at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico in preparation for test flights this year. From there it will go to the Air Force for more testing, and it could be in battle within five years.

Precise control over the beam’s aim allows it to hit a moving target a few inches wide and confine the damage to that space. The Pentagon hopes such precision will translate into less collateral damage than even today’s most accurate missiles. Future versions using different types of lasers could be mounted on smaller vehicles, such as fighter jets, helicopters and trucks.

How to Melt a Tank in Three Seconds Or Less
1. Find Your Target
When the C-130 flies within targeting range (up to five miles away), the gunner aims using a rotating video camera mounted beneath the fuselage. The computer locks onto the object to continually track it. A second crew member precisely adjusts the laser beam’s strength—higher power to disable vehicles, lower power to knock out, say, a small power generator. The gunner hits “fire,” and the computer takes over from there.

2. Heat Up the Laser
In a fraction of a second, chlorine gas mixes with hydrogen peroxide. The resulting chemical reaction creates highly energetic oxygen molecules. Pressurized nitrogen pushes the oxygen through a fine mist of iodine, transferring the oxygen’s energy to iodine molecules, which shed it in the form of intense light.

3. Amplify the Beam
The optical resonator bounces this light between mirrors, forcing more iodine molecules to cough up their photons, further increasing the laser beam’s intensity. From there, the light travels through a sealed pipe above the weapon’s crew station and into a chamber called the optical bench. There, sensors determine the beam’s quality, while mechanically controlled mirrors compensate for movement of the airplane, vibration and atmospheric conditions. Precise airflow regulates the chamber’s temperature and humidity, which helps keep the beam strong.

4. Stand Clear
A kind of reverse telescope called the beam expander inside a retractable, swiveling pod called the turret widens the beam to 20 inches and aims it. The laser’s computer determines the distance to the target and adjusts the beam so it condenses into a focused point at just the right spot. Tracking computers help make microscopic adjustments to compensate for both the airplane’s and the target’s movement. A burst of a few seconds’ duration will burn a several-inch-wide hole in whatever it hits.

FAQ
How hot is the beam?
The laser itself isn’t hot, but it can heat its target to thousands of degrees.

Does the laser sear everything in its path?
Yes. If a bird flew into the firing laser’s line of sight—well, no more bird. Fortunately, the weapon will fire for only a few seconds at a time, minimizing the risk.

Does it melt its target or just set it aflame?
That depends on what it hits. It will melt metal, but if the target is combustible, it will burn.