By now, everyone with an internet connection has seen pictures of the stealthy helicopter used in the raid to take out Osama bin Laden. So, if the Pakistani government provided Chinese engineers with a closer look at the “Airwolf,” as the copter was nicknamed in some military circles, it’s not necessarily a security disaster. The potential problems would only start if the Chinese took samples from the modified Black Hawk.
Just days after the Abbottabad mission, rumors started flying of a Chinese look-see at the rotocraft which carried the Navy SEALs to their target. One unnamed U.S. official told ABC News at the time that he’d be “shocked” if the Chinese weren’t given a glimpse. Islamabad was seething mad about the raid on Pakistani soil. Plus, China is a major supplier of Pakistan’s weapons; close relations between the two countries go back decades. During the Vietnam War, Pakistan allegedly handed over to the Chinese one of their American-built F-104 jets.
During the initial talk of a Chinese Airwolf exam, aviation types shrugged. The U.S. military and its suppliers have been experimenting with stealthy helicopter designs for decades. American helo-maker Sikorsky published a study of such set-ups in 1978. Back in the 80s, Hughes Aircraft worked on designs for the “MH-X,” a low-signature transport chopper project that was reportedly tested alongside the F-117 stealth fighter and B-2 stealth bomber.
Then there was the RAH-66 Comanche, which used a radar-deflecting shape as well was radar absorbent materials to keep from being spotted. One thing it couldn’t hide: its $60 million per copter price tag, up from $12 million. The Pentagon killed off the program in 2004. But the shield-like contraption over the Comanche’s tail rotor hub looks a lot like the one seen on the Airwolf. After the raid, President Obama talked about “donat[ing] a $60 million helicopter to this operation.”
“The secrets, so to speak, of a stealth helicopter are not really secrets at all. The design principles are pretty widely known,” our own David Axe told MSNBC after the raid in May.
On Sunday, the Financial Times appeared to confirm May’s chatter, and added a new twist: Before the Airwolf was returned to the U.S., the Chinese were allowed to “take samples of the special ’stealth’ skin that allowed the American team to enter Pakistan undetected by radar.” The New York Times added that “one person with knowledge of the intelligence assessments… characterized intelligence officials as being ‘certain‘ that Chinese engineers were able to photograph the helicopter and even walk away with samples of the wreckage.”
That’s potentially a bigger deal, if true. While stealth design principles have remained relatively stable over the years, stealth coatings continue to advance and advance. For example, Lockheed Martin exec Tom Burbage says the company’s new “fiber mat” coating is “the single, biggest technological breakthrough we’ve had” on the $380 billion F-35 stealth fighter program.
The Airwolf appears to have used a more traditional radar-reflective paint. But these can vary widely: Some absorb radar waves, in the same way black paint would take in visible light; others spread out the radar-absorption patterns, eliminating any easy-to-detect “hot spots.” If the Chinese took a sample of the Airwolf’s paint, and reverse-engineered it, that might give Beijing a leg up as it tries to assemble itsfleet of stealth aircraft.
Notice all the “ifs” and “mights” in these last few sentences. Yes, we all saw pictures of the Airwolf. But the real secrets of this secret aircraft may still be hidden.
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