A video posted on the TikTok app shows a strange black object being transported in a trailer at the Helendale radar signature test facility, not far from the headquarters of Skunk Works, Lockheed Martin's secret project division, in Palmdale (California).
It is at its Helendale facility that Lockheed conducts tests and evaluations to measure the radar cross section, i.e., the “stealth capability” of its stealth aircraft designs. Mock-ups are mounted upside down on a pole and are exposed to different radar waves.
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) researcher Ruben Hofs told the portal The Aviationist who was browsing the app when the video appeared. “I was browsing through TikTok this morning, it was the first video that came up when I opened the app. At first I thought it looked like a movie prop, but soon the construction in the background reminded me of an article about an RCS [testing] site. I went to have a look on google earth and to my surprise it turned out to be the exact facility in the article I read on TWZ [The War Zone], so I realized it wasn't just a cute movie prop, but possibly some kind of proof-of-concept project being tested there.”
Coincidentally, this morning I stumbled upon a very interesting tiktok video of an unknown shape on a flatbed trailer. The scaffolding in the background got my interest and this appears to be the Helendale Radar Cross Section Facility. Also, this does not seem to resemble the pic.twitter.com/Yo9WcKrDkQ
ADVERTISING - Ruben Hofs (@rubenhofs) September 22, 2021
The video: pic.twitter.com/Unhq9lsHwE
- Ruben Hofs (@rubenhofs) September 22, 2021
ADVERTISING
In fact, the object that was exposed in the TikTok video appears to be some kind of stealth project being transported upside down in the trailer. "While it's impossible to identify the concept model as there are dozens of these shapes when searching the internet, some people responded with the NGAD which seems to match pretty well if you turn the shape upside down."
The NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) is the 6th Generation fighter project of the United States, whose secret demonstrator prototype would have already performed a flight earlier this year.
Anyway, it is not possible to know exactly, for now, what the object is. However, the fact that it is being carried by a truck in broad daylight and without any cover may indicate that, while mysterious, it is not so secret.
