The US Air Force Hid a Secret Stealth Aircraft for 14 Years — The ‘Whale’ Had a Radar Signature Smaller Than a Bat

The US Air Force Hid a Secret Stealth Aircraft for 14 Years — The ‘Whale’ Had a Radar Signature Smaller Than a Bat

Northrop’s Tacit Blue was a uniquely distinct aircraft, with a rounded nose, boxy fuselage, tiny wings, and almost none of the sleekness normally associated with stealth aircraft. But appearances were deceptive. Tacit Blue was one of the most important classified experimental aircraft of its era, demonstrating technologies that helped make modern low-observable surveillance aircraft—and especially the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber—possible. Tacit Bl…