Boeing "Sensor Craft" … a new stealth UAV ???

Is this a “new” unknown stealth UAV ????? I found this at http://www.geocities.com/unicraftmodels/on/sensor/sensor.htm
and
from: http://www.afrlhorizons.com/Briefs/Mar01/SN0001.html

Does anyone know more ????

“Sensor Craft
Tomorrow’s eyes and ears of the warfighter.

AFRL’s Sensors Directorate, Radio Frequency Sensor Technology Division, Wright-Patterson AFB OH
The Air Force Research Laboratory is formulating a program to provide revolutionary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. This ingenious program blends a wide spectrum of emerging technologies to produce an unmanned air vehicle, which may be configured and optimized to conduct multiple advanced sensing modalities integrated into an airframe that sustains an enduring theater presence. Extremely long endurance, combined with omni-directional sensing, may enable a virtual presence, allowing vantage point flexibility/optimization necessary for continuous and detailed theater air and ground target detection, identification, and tracking. This unique combination of advanced sensors and sustained presence could enable continuous and rapid reaction to the dynamic combat operational requirements confronting current and evolving military operations.

As shown in Figure 1, Sensor Craft is envisioned as the air breather component of a fully integrated ISR enterprise that cohesively integrates space, air, and ground components of the total ISR apparatus. The technological construct can go beyond the concept of information merging (cross cueing) to a level of automated integration, adapting the sensor management to extract phenomenology necessary to identify extremely difficult camouflaged, concealed, and deceived (CC&D) targets. This may include multistatic interoperability with space assets and data exfiltration from ground sensors. Several aircraft and propulsion candidate designs and configurations are under consideration to determine the best trade-off between long endurance, altitude, engine efficiency, and power generation. Factors that drive the aircraft design include the advanced sensor payload and radio frequency (RF) aperture requirements necessary for new sensing capabilities that may result in continuous all-weather, theater air and ground target acquisition, geo-positioning, and tracking, including targets employing heavy CC&D. One of the most innovative aspects of this program, according to members of the design team, is the integration of the large antenna apertures required for lower frequency operations into the structural components of the aircraft. In these lower frequency bands of operation, the Sensor Craft may provide a foliage penetration radar capability, which is a key sensory mode aimed at defeating the CC&D capability.

Figure 2 illustrates the design of advanced sensor functionalities and modes for the Sensor Craft vehicle. Advanced RF capabilities include radar and electronic support measures (ESM) fully integrated into the aircraft structure. ESM will likely be split into a high band and low band of operation with radar functions including air moving target indication (AMTI), ground moving target indication, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and foliage penetration SAR, with these functions operational in both monostatic and bistatic modes. Data exfiltration of the ground sensory component of the ISR infrastructure will be integrated into the RF system on-board the Sensor Craft. Non-lethal self-protection is envisioned to perform in a manner explicitly tailored to the threat including noise, deception, and cooperative countermeasures. Integration of emerging electronic protection techniques into Sensor Craft may provide new levels of sophisticated hardening against the potential of advanced electronic warfare technologies. Requirements for assured data links within theater elements, with laser communication up/cross links for reach back to the continental United States, are already defined with long lead technical elements under development. The current concept is an electro-optical sensory suite composed of three systems. First, an infrared search and track system is an adjunct to the long-range AMTI. Second, a hyperspectral imaging system is an emerging technology that may enable exploitation of phenomenologically-derived, yet subtle, attributes associated with the CC&D and chemical-biological sensing/targeting obstacle. Finally, a 3-D laser imaging system is an advanced sensing capability with extremely high resolution and precise 3-D information critical for intelligence preparation of the battlefield and advance target recognition and positioning capabilities.

Advanced air vehicle technologies, shown in Figure 3, feature new design approaches to enable the embedding of the radar antenna into the actual load bearing structure, achieving a new level of electrical-structural integration. Advanced concepts in unitized metallic castings may reduce weight and substantially lower the cost of manufacturing. Additionally, the aero efficiency of the wing design for high-altitude, long-endurance operation involves design and validation to reach efficiency improvements exceeding 10% over conventional designs through lift/drag (L/D) optimization. This is most significant since such L/D improvements could increase mission duration by several hours. The combined impact of these air vehicle technologies is expected to lower the operational and support costs, while dramatically improving vehicle efficiency, resulting in a 25-50% reduction in gross vehicle take off weight (GVTOW). Vehicle weight reduction has a profound impact on lowering the acquisition cost of the platform.

Also as envisioned, dramatic improvements in engine reliability may be provided through advanced turbine engine technologies, featuring magnetic bearings and an integral starter-generator (see Figure 4). The advantage of the magnetic bearings is the elimination of the dependence on liquid oil for lubrication. This important factor currently represents a major limitation of endurance on contemporary wide-body ISR platforms. Also, an integral starter-generator reduces the number of parts and the need for external gearing necessary in conventional engines, resulting in weight reduction and substantial improvements in engine reliability. Lastly, technological improvements in engine materials and aerodynamic design are expected to improve engine performance and reduce specific fuel consumption by up to 35%. Specifically, this 35% fuel efficiency improvement reduces the GVTOW by 50% to meet the mission duration for Sensor Craft.

The Sensor Craft concept represents a diverse, multi-directorate, shared vision that innovatively combines the emerging (and rather diverse) technologies associated with flight vehicles, propulsion, sensors, and information into a highly responsive thrust to provide revolutionary capabilities in ISR. These advanced sensor functionalities, integrated into an aircraft that is explicitly developed to enable enduring theater persistence, may constitute the airborne component of the integrated ISR enterprise. The role and functionality of Sensor Craft within the ISR enterprise, represent an innovation in providing the warfighter the eyes and ears to flexibly respond to dynamic combat operations with the right force on target.”

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