This Strange Looking Aircraft Was Way More Advanced Than It Looks – SlashGear

The Tacit Blue looks like an AI-generated image of a generic, vaguely futuristic-looking aircraft. More space shuttle than airplane in terms of looks. It’s even been dubbed “alien school bus.” It has an intriguing and vital place in the history of stealth aircraft, however.

Built in the 1980s, the Tacit Blue represented an effort to try and resolve a primary issue facing the development of stealth planes: engines in operation generate tremendous heat. It’s difficult to remain hidden when a heat signature lights up like Times Square on radar systems. As the National Museum of the United States Air Force notes, though, the softer shape of the aircraft helped to reduce this problem, and, though it was very unique compared to other craft of the time, it was rather less conspicuous in operation too.

Odd as it looked, the intent behind the machine’s design was abundantly clear. Lt. Gen. George Muellner later explained that its aesthetic employed “…curved linear or Gaussian surfaces to achieve signature reduction,” according to Flight Global. What the U.S. Air Force wanted was a craft that could approach close to enemy lines, deploy sophisticated radar to monitor movements and do all of this in relative safety. The Tacit Blue was a hugely effective proof of concept in this regard.