Big Black Delta Mystery Solved?

jonerik writes "According to this article from Space.com, hundreds of sightings of enormous arrowhead-shaped aircraft that have been logged since the 1980s just might have been solved. According to a new report by the National Institute for Discovery Science, the craft (referred to as Big Black Deltas, or BBDs) are massive black airships on the order of 600 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 40 feet tall, weighing on the order of 100 tons and capable of carrying huge loads over long distances. Since a 2001 NIDS study correlated sightings of large triangular or delta-shaped objects with Air Force Materiel Command and Air Mobility Command bases throughout the United States, it's assumed that the BBDs are DoD transport airships. Dr. L. Scott Miller, professor of Aerospace Engineering at Wichita State University, agrees with much of the NIDS report. 'I do think that a large airship, with a heavy lift and other mission objectives, has been built,' says Dr. Miller. 'Lockheed has shown a great deal of interest in airships for many years. The real question is whether the Department of Defense has committed to buy and use such machines.'"

Comments

Re:Why would they classify airships?

[captain_craptacular]

All of the "wars" america has handled in the last little bit were total one sided slaughters. It's not like if Iraq of Afganistan had an extra 2 weeks to prepare they would have "won"...

This is ridiculous.

[Debillitatus]

The editors came up real short on this one. After reading the /. blurb, it sounded like an actual piece of journalism that was reporting on this. Ok, fine.

Then I went to the website that this came from. Let me give those of you who bought this a clue: Any website which has "Consciousness Studies" on the front page is not anything close to reputable when it comes to speculating about objects flying in the air.

Perhaps I'm being a bit thick-headed and missed the sarcasm, but it sure seemed like this was honestly submitted, and this is nothing but a load of crap.

Re:Bullshit. I saw one.

[Elwood P Dowd]

Yeah, but a stealth blimp would need to be angular. That way it doesn't reflect radar back in every direction. And being thin like you describe would be advantageous too, in that regard. However, it would still have to be big enough that it could have sufficient lift. How big was the object you saw? If your UFO was full of helium, think it could lift a few tanks?

The orientation of a blimp could change. It's lift is not defined by the direction it's facing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't necesarily believe your story *or* the one on space.com, but I don't see what your argument is. Your description sounds like it could easily be a... um... stealth blimp. How else is it going to remain airborne silently?

Re:Why would they classify airships?

[Wyatt Earp]

In Somalia no one "won".

The United States did pull out it's forces, but the United Nations Mission (Pakistan, Qatar, Italy) remained.

The United States Embassy remained.

By the Day of the Rangers, the United States was already starting a draw-down in the region.

The Somalia people lost, the Clans lost, the United Nations lost, the United States lost soldiers, the Canadians broke up it's Para Regiment.

There were no winners in that conflict.

Re:Why would they classify airships?

[Fred Ferrigno]

I think surprise could be very important to the outcome in the (probably) upcoming war against Iraq.

Think about what you just said. If it occurs to you that a war against Iraq is probable, maybe the same thought occurs to the Iraqis? Kinda ruins the whole surprise aspect when the Washington Post publishes your battle plans. Congress is already holding hearings about how to set up our puppet government in Baghdad once we've done away with Saddam.

They know we're coming. We just don't know it yet.

Re:It's about the upstream...

[timeOday]

Very general knowledge such as "the US may attack us within the next couple of years" is useless. Just like when Al-Qaeda spreads rumors that there might be an attack somewhere in the northeast US, "soon."

I think the congressional hearings are great. Support for overthrowing Saddam is already shaky. We either need to not do it, or to do it with the moral backing of the democratic process.

Attacking with surprise can save lives. On the other hand, staying out of Vietnam would have saved a whole lot of lives, too.

Several Points about This

[evilviper]

Yes, yes, crap. Thanks, let's move on.

Anyhow, when the next secret aircraft is uncovered, and tied to a number of unsolved sightings, it would be nearly as significant as proof that it was aliens.

How secure would you feel knowing that there were military aircraft overhead, that no radar station was able to confirm? How would you feel knowing that the paranoid kook that you discounted was actually right? All the reports that have been discounted will no doubt give great insight, and reveal tell-tale signs of what the government does when attempting to cover-up a legit sighting.

And I'd like to end with some advice for you kooks that often photograph blury black blotches flying in the sky. Get the following:

1. An industrial stregenth spot-light.
2. A very hi-definition video camera, with good optical zoom
3. A laser range-finder

With that, you should be able to:

1. Light-up the craft.
OR
2. Instantly determine what is causing the optical illusion.
3. Get very detailed moving photos of the craft.
4. Get a definitive distance measurement, that will help when reviewing the tape(s).
5. Get credibility

You might discover classified military craft-in which case you can rub the video in the face of all the radar operators.
Hell, even if you discover that you aren't seeing craft, you just might end up with the most detailed film of some particular natural phenomenon. That's not such a bad runner-up prize.

#5 is most important. It was crappy photos that convinced the public of the lock-ness monster. The same such photos aren't going to convince anyone with half a brain.

In the worst case, with that setup, you WILL difinitively discover the real source of those sightings, and put your own mind at ease.

Heh, Aliens that can travel much faster than the speed of light, can instantly accelerate, and can stay hidden for a century, but they can't stay 'cloaked' at night, or in areas where there is not adaqute equipment to get a good record of them.