What the Aurora's statistics are thought to be:

Before You Read On...

The Different Sides of the "Debate"

Although it is not confirmed that such an aircraft exists, many people believe that it does, and is just one of the many secrets of Area 51. I am here to disprove them. However, since this is an Aurora page, I will give all the evidence for the assumptions that the Aurora exists + rebuttals. Different bullets symbolize the different sides of the "debate". However, since I read that some browsers do not show different kinds of bullets, the font will also symbolize the different sides of the "debate".

• This bullet and this regular font symbolize the proponents, the guys who believe in the Aurora.
• This bullet and this italic font symbolize the opponents, the guys who don't believe in the Aurora

When a proponent or opponent bullet is indented, it is considered a rebuttal, a contradiction of the evidence the other side gave.

• August 1989: A former Royal Observer Corps member working on a North Sea gas rig, 100 km off the Norfolk coast spotted a matte-black aircraft refueling from a KC-135, accompanied by two F-111s. The aircraft was "a perfect triangle", slightly bigger than an F-111. The formation was heading towards the UK coast.
• This might have been a prototype of the US Navy A-12 Avenger II, or Northrop's B-2 bomber, maybe even the TR-3A Black Manta.
• March 1990: Aviation Week and Space Technology first broke the news that Aurora was inadvertently released in the 1985 US budget, as an allocation of $455 Million for black aircraft production in FY 1987.
• Hey, it could have been some other black aircraft! Weak Rebuttal
• 1991: A series of unusual sonic booms were detected in Southern California, beginning in mid to late 1991. On at least five occasions, these sonic booms were recorded by at least 25 of the 220 US Geological Survey sensors across Southern California used to pinpoint earthquake epicenters. The incidents were recorded in June, October, November, and late January 1991. Seismologists estimate that the aircraft were flying at speeds between Mach 3 and 4 and at altitudes of 8 to 10 kilometers. The aircraft's flight path was in a north-northeast direction, consistent with flight paths to secret test ranges in Nevada. Seismologists say that the sonic booms were characteristic of a smaller vehicle than the 37 meter long shuttle orbiter. Furthermore, neither the shuttle nor NASA's single SR-71B was operating on the days the booms were registered.
• It could have been the X-33.
• Many, numerous sitings
• They could have been the X-33, the F-117, the B-2 bomber, the TR-3A Black Manta, or other various government aircraft, both public and secret.

• The SR-71 was retired
• It was retired entirely because of politics. To find out more, click here.

• There is the X-33, so and it can go Mach 13+, so why would the government spend $455 million for a plane that goes only Mach 6-8 if they already have a plane that can go Mach 13+?

• Well, it's not their money, it's our money (taxpayer dollars) weak rebuttal
• Plus, the X-33 is a rocket (well, sort of), while the Aurora is a plane strong rebuttal

• NASA is working on a new project to design an aircraft that can go up to speeds of Mach 20. [Scientific American "Harder than Rocket Science" - Volume 10, Number 4, Winter 1999] It is based on a scramjet design. A full-scale unmanned prototype will try to fly at speeds of Mach 7 in the spring of the year 2000. Anyway, to get to the point, why would the government let NASA spend a lot of money researching and building an aircraft to fly at Mach 7 if they already have the Aurora? Although our government is really stupid, it's not that stupid!

• [No rebuttal]

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