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Overview Info: Boeing Bird of Prey

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Eagle Aerie Inc.

Title: Boeing Bird of Prey

Last Updated Date: Aug. 2, 2013

The Boeing Bird of Prey was a black project aircraft, intended to demonstrate stealth technology. It was developed by McDonnell Douglas and Boeing in the 1990s.

The company provided $67 million of funding for the project; it was a low-cost program compared to many other programs of similar scale.

It developed technology and materials which would later be used on Boeing’s X-45 unmanned combat air vehicle. As an internal project, this aircraft was not given an X-plane designation. There are no public plans to make this a production aircraft. It is characterized as a technology demonstrator.

Overview Info: Boeing X-37

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Eagle Aerie Inc.

Title: Boeing X-37

Source: Wikipedia.org

Last Updated Date: Sept. 16, 2014

The Boeing X-37, also known as the X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is an American reusable unmanned spacecraft. It is boosted into space by a rocket, then re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and lands as a spaceplane.

The X-37 is operated by the United States Air Force for orbital spaceflight missions intended to demonstrate reusable space technologies. It is a 120%-scaled derivative of the earlier Boeing X-40. As of 2013 it holds the world record for being the smallest robotic, unmanned space plane.

The X-37 began as a NASA project in 1999, before being transferred to the U.S. Department of Defense in 2004. It conducted its first flight as a drop test on 7 April 2006, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The spaceplane’s first orbital mission, USA-212, was launched on 22 April 2010 using an Atlas V rocket.

Its successful return to Earth on 3 December 2010 was the first test of the vehicle’s heat shield and hypersonic aerodynamic handling. A second X-37 was launched on 5 March 2011, with the mission designation USA-226; it returned to Earth on 16 June 2012. A third X-37 mission, USA-240, launched successfully on 11 December 2012.

Info: National Capitol Region-Integrated Air Defense System (NCR-IADS)

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Eagle Aerie Inc.

Title: National Capitol Region-Integrated Air Defense System (NCR-IADS)

Source: www.globalsecurity.org

Last Updated Date: Oct. 2013

An activity of NORAD, National Capitol Region-Integrated Air Defense System (NCR-IADS) protects the U.S. National Capital Region against air threats. At the direction of the President through SecDef, DOD conducts homeland air defense using defensive counterair operations, which are comprised of active and passive air and missile defense.

Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the overall umbrella operation covering HD for North America and Hawaii. As the binational leading element of this operation, NORAD is tasked to support ONE by employing the forces and command and control necessary to protect North America from air attack.

The Air Force Joint Air Defense Operations Center Suite [AF JADOC] Suite is an integrated USAF connectivity center used in point defense of the National Capital Region. The Suite provides capability for tactical C2 execution for the Joint Task Force/Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JTF/JFACC) under the Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) mission as part of the National Capital Region-Integrated Air Defense System (NCR-IADS).

It is currently fielded and operational. It was developed in response to an urgent need request for enhanced air defense of the NCR per SECDEF direction through a joint rapid acquisition cell. The architecture consists of an air surveillance fusion system and the C2 connectivity center, which includes a Link 16 capable terminal and Situational Awareness Data Link (SADL) capability.

Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office: Fact Sheet

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Eagle Aerie Inc.

Title: Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office: Fact Sheet

Source: www.af.mil

Last Updated Date: Aug. 28, 2009

The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, located in Washington, D.C., reports directly to a Board of Directors chaired by the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics. Board members also include the secretary of the Air Force, the Air Force chief of staff, and the assistant secretary of the Air Force (acquisition). The office responds to Combat Air Force and combatant command requirements.

Mission
The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office expedites development and fielding of select Department of Defense combat support and weapon systems by leveraging defense-wide technology development efforts and existing operational capabilities. The Board of Directors tasks the office directly to address needs that involve mission applications and operational concepts requiring specialized expertise, and involve sensitive activities managed by other government agencies. The office also conducts projects on accelerated timelines.

Organization
The RCO reports to a board of directors comprising the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force. The office is staffed with a variety of functional specialists who form a collaborative melting pot of expertise. Inherent in the accomplishment of its mission to deliver capability is intent to experiment, within the bounds of statute, to discover and recommend new methods, processes, and techniques for the Air Force and the Department of Defense to conduct business in an efficient fashion.

Interavia Business & Technology: ‘Alan Wiechman – Father Of The Bird Of Prey’

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Eagle Aerie Inc.

Title: “Alan Wiechman–father of the bird of prey: director of signature technology and applications at Boeing Phantom Works.”

Publication: Interavia Business and Technology

Publish Date: Nov. 1, 2002

There’s no picture of a personality accompanying this feature in this issue. Fact is, Boeing would rather not say too much about Alan Wiechman, the director of signature technology and applications at the company’s Phantom Works.

Wiechman and other engineers were anonymous at the unveiling of the Bird of Prey, the company’s stealthy demonstrator. (Indeed, apart from the aircraft’s pilots, none of the Boeing people who spoke at the unveiling even worked for McDonnell Douglas when the project started.)

Search Boeing’s site, the web, or databases and patent search sites for Wiechman’s name and you will come up almost empty handed. The only organization that has “outed” Wiechman, in fact, is the National Defense Industry Association, which presented him with its annual technical achievement award for survivability last year.