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A few day ago , a " UFO " was discern cruising down a main street in Cowley County , Kan. It was n’t in the skies , but instead being haul on a flatbed truck driving down the centre of US Highway 77 .
From at least one slant , the strange - shape aircraft resemble a saucer , and was covered by what appear to be an industrial - strength tarpaulin ( or perhaps a badly malfunctioning cloaking gimmick ) .
A flying-saucer-like aircraft is towed down US 77 in Cowley County, Kansas.
The vehicle , at about 30 feet across , was so liberal that local law enforcement had to remove roadside sign to permit safe passage — as well as some measure of security . Many local suspected ( or at least joked ) that that it might have been a UFO or some top - hole-and-corner aircraft . Local sheriff Don Read said he was not permit to unwrap much about the occult craft , though he did allow splay the detail that it was not recovered at a crash land site , but rather had been manufactured by the aerospace company Northrop Grumman .
Yet many people marvel why , if it was a know cunning ( even a closelipped one ) , would n’t the company simply flee the craft to its destination . Perhaps it require haunt or maintenance ; but if so , would n’t it be gentle to add the mechanic and parts to the aircraft , instead of taking it to the nation ’s main road ? supposition ran rearing , fueled by YouTube videos and news account about the strange sight . [ Hunter Captures UFO in Nevada ]
Finally , a man named Brooks McKinney mistreat forward to pierce the veil of secret and conspiracy . McKinney , aged manager of public relations at Northrop Grumman , toldLife ’s Little Mysteriesthat the suspect UFO was in fact an X-47B , an unmanned fight droning designed to operate from aircraft toter .
The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System flew with its landing gear up for the first time on Sept. 7 during a test flight at Edwards AFB, Calif.
The X-47B has an impressive wingspan of 62 feet ( just over 30 feet with wings shut down ) ; a duration of nearly 40 invertebrate foot ; and bear about 10 feet high on three bicycle . TheX-47B in the videowas head to a Naval air place in Maryland .
" We built two for the Navy , they were being essay at Edwards Air Force Base [ in California ] since March , " McKinney allege . " One is on its way to Maryland , and the other will remain in California . " He took the UFO speculation in respectable humor , though , and understood the curiosity : " Clearly mass are concerned in what ’s going through township . It ’s unusual to see a head-shrinker - wrapped aircraft , especially one with that conformation . "
The cause it was n’t simply aviate across the country is deceptively simple : " It ’s difficult to flee an unmanned drone through commercial-grade airspace , " McKinney explained . Piloted aircraft are one affair , but long trips for large aircraft without a human pilot film on board are frowned upon for both aviation security reasons and practical concerns .
On the other script , perhaps the X-47B is just a convenient cover song level , and it really is a capture flight saucer . We ’ll pass on it to you to decide .
Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science powder store and author of Scientific Paranormal Investigation : How to work Unexplained Mysteries . His internet site is www.BenjaminRadford.com .
