$50M secret warship to be auctioned for scrap metal

[Royal Sloan 09]

Source: AP

SACRAMENTO, CA (AP) - A $50 million, once-secret stealth
warship built nearly 30 years ago for the U.S. Navy is now set to
be auctioned off for scrap.

The Sacramento Bee reports that the auction for the 164-foot Sea Shadow will close on Friday.

The Sea Shadow was built by Lockheed Martin in 1985 in Redwood City as a way to test radar-cloaking technology at sea.



Read more: http://www.news10.net/rss/article/191592/2/50M-secret-warship-to-be-auctioned-for-scrap-metal

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$50 million for scrap, such waste from the MIC.

[jerseyjack]

1. And they wasted only $50m?

[Posteritatis]

15. It's a surprisingly low number considering what they built and were researching. (nt)

[Blue_Tires]

2. A waste for the taxpayer, maybe, but a great success for Lockheed

[Kaleva]

3. 30 years is about the normal life expectancy for a ship like this.

[Brother Buzz]

13. Come on, you can add a few years considering it was garaged most the whole time

[Kaleva]

19. And what do you base that on?

[marble falls]

4. Would this possibly make for some kind of sword to be beaten into a ploughshare for Greenpeace .....

or Sea Shepherds or Rainbow??? Imagine catching up with deep sea factory fishers with this.

[caraher]

6. That was my first thought

but my guess is that, if they're selling it for scrap, they won't deliver it in seaworthy condition

[GliderGuider]

5. It would make a great addition to Sea Shepherd's fleet!

This bad boy:


Alongside this bad boy...


The Japanese whalers would never see them coming...

[dizbukhapeter]

12. Actually it wouldn't

The Sea Shadow is strictly shallow water, can't cope with high seas.

[AtheistCrusader]

14. And you can be sure it's been gutted already.

[caraher]

7. Make your bid here...

http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/aucdsclnk?sl=31QSCI12129001#

[Diclotican]

8. Royal Sloan 09

Royal Sloan 09

You wan't to bet about the posibility of it end up in China where it could start a new line of "stealth" ships?.. They have stolen, og buying everything else, instead of making it itself, so why not skip a whole prosess, and go for the whole ship allready..?

It is an irony, that this ship wil end up in a scrapjard, instead of beeing used as a museum of sorts.. It is an advanced chip, who is one of a kind as we speak now at least...

Diclotican

[Royal Sloan 09]

9. I haven't seen any SR-71's

sold for scrap at anytime for any price, and they were secret also for many years, but I guess national security is only for those that want to make the big bucks from the tax payers buying expensive auction weapons of mass destruction to the highest bidder.

How much does the US recover in the auction of this secret stealth ship?, pennies on the dollar for what the tax payers have spent. Good call on the foreigner's buying it under cover, thru some American equity investor group, hmmmm?

[Diclotican]

11. Royal Sloan 09

Royal Sloan 09

Well, the SR-71 is still active - even though it was meant to be retired by the mid 1990s...It have been used many times since it was "retired" as active aircrafts - because they are needed and the USAF just doesn't have anything like SR-71 on the books. And I doubt that US would ever let anyone touch SR-71 outside the program that is, before the last hour of the airframe was out, and the aircraft cut into so small pieces that nothing could ever be discovered from it... The same with U2, who are still very active, even after more than 50 year in service.. They would also be cut into so small pieces that nothing can be learned from it... And the chinese is not THAT clever, that they could discover secrets from mer fragments of bits...

I'm pretty sure they would not be given back what they once spend on it, to build this Stealth ship... And for what I know, a lot of nations are willing to buy that ship, directly, or undercover by some equity investor group... China have been reported to have doing that a few times over the last couple of years, where "interesting tools for their use" have been known to get under the hammer....

Diclotican

[AtheistCrusader]

16. It's not active anymore.

All 32 airframes accounted for. The last two in flyable condition, owned by NASA, were shut down in 2000.

I've touched two with my bare hand. Most are owned by museums at this point.

[Diclotican]

22. AtheistCrusader

AtheistCrusader

Ok, then we know that - that the SR-71 Blackbird is counted for - and not active anymore.. Pitty, it is an amazing aircraft who still hold a dusin or so world records... And wil posible hold it for the forseable future too....

It must have been some feeling, to be able to toutch one or two with your bare hand.. Impressive is the word I would have used to express it....

Diclotican

[AtheistCrusader]

24. It was kind of embarrassing really.

I don't come CLOSE to fitting in the cockpit. Not even the simulator.

But yeah, the skin of the aircraft is pretty interesting. It's ribbed, like corrugated metal to withstand heat expansion. Apparently samples were saved of the wings, because the titanium in the skin didn't undergo metal fatigue, like most airframes do over time. Every time it flew, the skin got effectively re-tempered, and it just strenghtened it over time, like folding steel repeatedly to make a strong blade.

They really don't like you doing it, but there are a few unique aircraft like the M-21, the SR-71's predecessor drone test bed, at the Boeing museum of flight, and you can reach up and touch it.

[Diclotican]

27. AtheistCrusader

AtheistCrusader

Well, I guess you are not alone about that .. I might be able to squeeze into the cockpit, but it would be a close call

The SR-71 Was, and is maybe yet one of the most advanced aircrafts out there - almost a space-ship, but not yet a space-ship.. And I guess the metal on the skin, over the years have been cracked up many times, and then made into a better metal as it heat and de-heat when they fly it fast and shorter... It is little interesting to know, that the metal the SR-71 is using, in fact was from USSR, as they had one of the biggest deposit of titanium, was selling it to the US, who then used the metal to build SR-71 Blackbird... Who in time was used to spy on USSR from high attitudes.. If just the russians had understood what the titanium should be used to, SR-71 could have been a theoretical aircraft, and not a reality in the 1960
History is full of this ironies

Interesting, I might travel to Boeing Museum of Flight one day then - even though it is a long way from Norway

Diclotican

[AtheistCrusader]

30. Yep, the soviets used that plethora of titanium to develop their own vehicles.

The Mig 25 foxbat would be the best example. Practically a manned rocket with wings. The only thing holding that fighter under Mach 3, was their engine designs, which lagged behind ours.

Still the fastest air superiority fighter ever made by man. It was about 10% titanium by weight. Also lagging, was their manufacturing processes, which is why they made so much use of stainless steel in it. (Kind of the DeLorean of combat aircraft)

[Diclotican]

31. AtheistCrusader

AtheistCrusader

True, the MIG 25 Foxbat was one hell of an aircraft - the only reason it was not able to cruise at Mach 3 or more, was the engine, who was far inferior to the US counterparts of the day.. The engine have the problem that it was able to burn itself out after 180 hours flying - that made the aircraft somewhat expensive to fly to say at least.. One of the reason was because of lack of advanced metallurgy, who was something they tried very hard to make up for by spying on Western industry under the cold war. And I would say, KGB was pretty good at what they was able to make out of it all.. But it took valuable times, that the russians doesn't had in the 1970s and 1980s, but that is another history maybe.. It is a pitty because the Aircraft itself was very advanced who had deserved a better engine to fit it proper.. The MIG31 was also a hell of an aircraft, but also lacked in the department of engines.. Who also was sad, because it was a Superior front line fighter at the time - better than the US counterparts by far, and still a very potent fighter even after almost 30 year in service

Well, at least it was made a few more MIG25 foxbat - than DeLorean, even thought they do have parts for more than 9000 DeLoreans around.. And I mean 9000 full cars ready to drive... And the DeLoreans was pretty cool for its time - and still is pretty nice to look at, even though it is a car who might need a lot of TLC to drive compared to most modern cars today (but it doesn't rust, as it is made off stainless steel!! and build to exist forever..

Diclotican

[Royal Sloan 09]

17. U-2 and TR-1's are

staying in service until 2020, noted that the U-2's first flight was in August 1955, also a skunk works project. However, the Blackbird, SR-71 flew it last official flight Oct. 9th, 1999, according to http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/sr-71/, but that's not to say the government would still be using it secretly, and not tell US the citizens. Really can You TRUST your government to tell the truth now?
It is and/or was a very expensive aircraft to fly and maintain, but with the satellite technology of today, it's much cheaper and easier to use satellites! Shout out to USAF Space Command, salute. There are also drones that can fly higher and undetected, well except for the one the Iranian's are trying to copy .

[Diclotican]

21. Royal Sloan 09

Royal Sloan 09

Drones and satellites IS cheaper to operate and fly than U2 and TR-1 thats for sure. Even with an 20 year old satellite you can pinpoint your nabours driver license, and look if the tag is valid yet.. But Satellites do have their problems, one of them is that the run they are flying around earth is easy to pinpoint, and therefore hide equipment "enemies" doesn't want US to know about... That was the way the US/USSR game was plaid out for more than 40 year, and I doubt that country's like NK or Iran are no less intelligent to hide their own little secrets than the russians was - or the americans was under most of the cold war.. - the U2 is an impressive equipment, the oldest are build in 1955, and still very active in service... SR-71 Blackbird is maybe official been retired already in 1999, but it is rumored to have been used long after 1999, because they just doesn't had anything else up there, who could match the capacity of the SR-71...

The Drones can be hit - as the iranians experienced when they was able to make one goes down, and to re-engined it to suit their own needs - not to say, give others, like Russia and China a possibility to get to know the Drones better, and to make their own copies of it.. It was/is a stupid move to be to bold when it came to use the Drones. No aircraft manned or other vice is invisible, and can/will be shot down sooner or later.. I believed US learned that, when U2 from Bodø, it was stationed there from 1960 to right after the shoot-down of an U2 over USSR airspace. Even though it might have been an lucky accident, it show that even the mighty U2 could be hit, and shot down... The new Drones are no different.. Even when the equipment is far more advanced than it was when U2 was brand new...

Diclotican

[AtheistCrusader]

25. There's dozens, possibly hundreds of the things up there.

And several, like the Misty type, are very, very difficult to observe, and can change orbits.

At this point, (Especially with a couple of these programs 'massively overbudget and behind schedule') it's safe to assume there could be as many as double the publicly understood number of them in orbit.

Given the numbers, I think it's fair to assume the window of opportunity for bad guys to do anything in the open, between windows of observation, is nil.

And most of all, they won't always even know what those windows are, since they are difficult/impractical to 'see'. For instance, one of the 'onyx' satellites, appears to be a one-off, and has confounded amateur observers by flat out vanishing in broad daylight.

[Diclotican]

28. AtheistCrusader

AtheistCrusader

You are right - it exist a lot of different satellites of different sizes and equipment who is not to easy to get information about - specially the US "special spy satellites" who can change orbits - even if it comes with an penalty as the fuel they use to change orbit, also will end up costing the satellite time out in space.. I do not know how easy/difficult it is to full up a satellite in space, but I would guess it is not to easy to fill up a satellite in space.. It is difficult enough when the satellite is down on earth...

I would not be surprised if the real number of satellites, is at least the double of what they claim it to be.. And some of the satellites is possible far more advanced than we would be told anytime soon... When satellite imagery from the 1980s was given to the public, the size of what they could discover was amassing, you could se a cars license plate from 150-200.000fts hight.. - today I bet they can find out what the north Korean border soldier had for breakfast if they need to do, by the size of his body at 9 am...

For some nations, who have the resources to hide it Will be more difficult to poke into their secrets - but for some other nations, who might not have the resources, but dam have the ambitions... Like North Korea who is hellbent on "war" it looks they just doesn't care about satellites - or they just doesn't have the resources to hide it.. I don't know.

I doesn't know about to much about the Onyx satellites - its look like an very advanced satellite, maybe even possible of vanishing? or at least hide it presence by some "magical tricks"..

Diclotican

[happyslug]

23. The U2 and the SR-71 contain nothing that the Russians and Chinese don't already know

Now, the electronics in both are top secret and both Russia and China (And I suspect our NATO allies) would like to obtain, but if either is ever sold for scarp those electronics would be long gone by the time the aircraft be up for sale.

The technology of the engines is from the 1960s (1950s for the U2). Operation of the planes are also from the same era. Thus the only thing the US does NOT want anyone to get is the electronics, and that will be taken out of any plane sold for scrap (removal of the electronics is standard even in selling long out of service planes like the F-14s, A-6s, and even KC-135s the Armed Forces has sold off).

Most planes technology is well known, and not secret any more, but the electronics inside those planes are. A F-15 built in the early 1970s and found today without any upgrades would be sold as is, its electronics long obsolete. On the other hand every F-15 in US use has been upgraded over the years. A F-15 today is a much better plane, do to its electronics, then it was when first built in the early 1970s. It is the upgraded electronics that is the advantage such planes have over any other plane flying (One US Air Force General wrote that the US should replace its F-15 with newly built Russian Su-29s, from a flying point of view about the same except the F-15s are at the end of their structural life, i,e, have flown off and landed to many times for the metal to be considered safe. The Su-29 can do what ever the F-15 can do, and can be purchased new from Russia. When brought into the US and given updated US electronics would be able to defeat any other plane flying, included Russian SU-29s. That general thought it would be a more cost efficient replacement then the F- 22 Raptor (He also pointed out we are within 20 years of replacing all manned fighters with remote control planes, do to the need to overcome improved AA missiles capacity i.e. unmanned planes can go on one way missions, permitting them to be smaller do to no need to hold fuel to return to base, thus an overall smaller target harder for an AA missile to hit).

Just comment that the key to aircraft after the Mig-17 and F-86 Sabre has been electronics not improved speed or flying ability. Thus the wings, engines and body are NOT that important any more. On the other hand the electronics are important for it is what gives a pilot the edge at the present time and will continued to do so in the foreseeable future (and that will be true when unmanned planes replaced manned planes in about 20 years).

[Diclotican]

29. happyslug

happyslug

True - the aircraft itself is maybe nothing the russians, and chinese doesn't know about as it is.. But the electronic on the other hand is something they might not want anyone to know about.. And I am sure that both US, and NATO have a lot of highly secret electronics who they doesn't want anyone to know about..

And as you point out, most of the advances when it comes to aircraft, specially military ones have been in the electronic department not in the aircraft itself... And even when the aircrafts itself could be "old" the electronic is maybe younger than the pilot flying the
bird

Well, the F15 and the MIG29 (Not SU29, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-29 Is equal in most concepts As the MIG29 and the F15 is "brothers in arm" of sorts, even when the SU29 is the bigger aircraft .. The F15 is maybe the most advanced of the two - but the MIG29 is not exactly an aircraft to push over either... And the rest of the derivatives of MIG29 family is also rather advanced, even though I doubt they would survive to long, as no F15 have never been shoot down yet at least..


Well, the unmanned Drones is maybe around the corner - but I do hope - that human control will be important too... Thinking about Drones that could hit anywhere anytime is not exactly something I am looking forward too

Diclotican

[Turbineguy]

10. $50 Million????

They could have bought 78,125 toilet seats for that kind of money!

[jeff47]

18. This is a test platform, not a warship.

It wasn't armed. It only has 12 bunks. The "mess hall" is literally one microwave oven.

Heck, it was never even commissioned, so those calling it the "USS Sea Shadow" are actually wrong.

This is a test platform, not a warship. We got about 20 years of testing out of it, and now it's time to recycle it.

[Cobalt-60]

20. Agreed

While I think it looks cool in the water it has little practical application outside of rum running. There's nothing sinister about scrapping it out.
Most of this vessel's stealth comes from its unusual configuration.
And we've seen angled panels like this on new warships for some time.
So I doubt if anyone cutting it up will get much new information.
If anyone with the wherewithal to construct a conventional vessel wanted one like this they could probably commission it.
I did use its oblique image as a diplomat's ship in a Civilization 2 scenario once.

[AtheistCrusader]

26. It's probably going to be missing it's skin

when it is finally sold. Chances are good, that doesn't qualify as 'scrap' to anyone.