Looks like swamp gas to me

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Back about 11-12 years ago I had just left Iraqi airspace and was tracking down the Gulf between Iran and Saudi enroute LHR-DXB when ‘something’ flew over us VERY HIGH going VERY FAST. It was Arrow shaped with curved trailing edges. It was heading into Iran.

We called up BAH control and asked about it. He said it had painted a couple of time and gave us an approximate GS which sorted confirmed what we’d guessed at - well over the Mach. We were at FL370 and figured it must have been above 55-60.

BAH control said STBY while he asked a MIL chap sat nearby.

The answer came back “ahhh you didn’t see anything”

Used to see and hear strange stuff in the Gulf/over Iraq from time time when the air route over Iraq opened near the end of Gulf War 2.

I had 2 Predator drones fly under me once in loose formation.

Listening to fighter pilots trying to find their tankers or “descending below 150 going tactical” and seeing flashes on the horizon at night over Iraq when you knew damn well there wasn’t a cloud in the whole ME. Or Russian freighter pilots approaching Baghdad from western Iraq and not being terribly up to speed on procedures being told by Baghdad Control (US MIL) “sir you WILL hold or be shot down”

Was about the only thing that made long haul between Asia, ME and UK mildly entertaining

If the USAF isn’t developing new secret weapons, they aren’t doing their job. Further, secret airplanes don’t remain secret forever. You have to fly them and, sooner or later, someone sees them. We’ll find out about this in good time, just like we found out about the P-59, the U-2, the SR-71, the MiGs in the desert, the F-117...

Disclaimer: I don’t have any inside knowledge, just many decades of watching how things work.

Got met by security getting out of the jet back at Nellis after a Red Flag fam day in 89 with a preemptive "you didn't see anything" and a check to make sure that we didn't have any cameras on us. We HADN'T actually seen anything but it sounds like it would have been cool if we did!

you didn't see anything....

Allen,
When I read your post I thought they gave you a check to keep you quiet ($$$$). Oops. I misread it!

Val

If you say you saw something you get:
Free housing
Fitness program
Three hots and a cot
Date night EVERY night whether you want it or not

A little off topic but my first RF was in '76...sucks getting old. Earlier ones were more fun than later ones. 10-ship of dissimilar jets on initial.... RF Boss said, "Looked great! Knock it off."

A little off topic but my first RF was in '76...sucks getting old. Earlier ones were more fun than later ones. 10-ship of dissimilar jets on initial.... RF Boss said, "Looked great! Knock it off."

POTUS has already named it the “Super Duper” ... Not quite as catchy as the RQ-170’s moniker; the Beast of Kandahar.