Il fallait bien que l’on e\u00fbt une saga technologique en marge de l’\u00e9limination, type Cosa Nostra<\/em>, de ben Laden. C’est donc l’affaire de l’h\u00e9licopt\u00e8re, stealth<\/em> (technologie furtive) et ultrasecret, et qui a pourtant \u00e9t\u00e9 victime d’un accident fatal. La chose s’est pass\u00e9e au-dessus du site de l’attaque ; les SEAL ont d\u00e9truit les restes de l’h\u00e9licopt\u00e8re secret, mais pas tous les restes On verra que c’est l\u00e0 que se noue l’intrigue. Il est \u00e9galement possible que deux<\/strong> h\u00e9licopt\u00e8res de ce type (des UH-60 BlackHawk<\/em> modifi\u00e9s) aient \u00e9t\u00e9 perdus durant l’op\u00e9ration.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tD\u00e8s le 3 mai 2011<\/a>, Bill Sweetman signalait que le mod\u00e8le d\u00e9truit dans un accident \u00e9tait un h\u00e9licopt\u00e8re \u00e9quip\u00e9 de technologies furtives (sur son site Ares<\/em> d’Aviation Week<\/em>).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00abIt was a secretly developed stealth helicopter, probably a highly modified version of an H-60 Blackhawk. Photos published in the Daily Mail and on the Secret Projects board show that the helicopter’s tail features stealth-configured shapes on the boom and tip fairings, swept stabilizers and a dishpan cover over a non-standard five-or-six-blade tail rotor. It has a silver-loaded infra-red suppression finish similar to that seen on some V-22s.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00bbNo wonder the team tried to destroy it. The photos show that they did a thorough job except for the end of the tailboom, which ended up outside the compound wall. (It almost looks as if the helo’s tail hit the wall on landing.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00bbStealth helicopter technology in itself is not new and was applied extensively to the RAH-66 Comanche. Priorities are usually different versus fixed-wing aircraft. Reducing noise and making it less conspicuous is the first job (more main and tail blades reduce the classic whop-whop signature).<\/em> []<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00bbThe willingness to compromise this technology shows the importance of the mission in the eyes of US commanders — and what we’re seeing here also explains why Pakistani defenses didn’t see the first wave (at least) coming in.<\/em>\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tLe m\u00eame 3 mai 2011<\/a>, Reuters donnait quelques indications sur l’accident, sans donner en d’autres pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment sur la nature furtive de l’appareil, dito<\/em>, l’emploi de technologies furtives. Tout juste parlait-on d’une nouvelle version du UH-60 BlackHawk<\/em>, ou d’une version modifi\u00e9e pour l’op\u00e9ration : \u00ab[T]he helicopter packed with soldiers made a controlled but hard landing after encountering higher-than-expected temperatures at bin Laden’s compound near Islamabad, Senator Dianne Feinstein told reporters on Tuesday<\/em>\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tUn nouvel \u00e9l\u00e9ment appara\u00eet, notamment avec le Daily Telegraph<\/em> du 5 mai 2011<\/a>, qui rend l’affaire beaucoup plus int\u00e9ressante, en m\u00eame temps qu’il nous montre un nouvel aspect du raid qui semble \u00e9chapper au contr\u00f4le des autorit\u00e9s washingtoniennes. Il s’agit de la crainte qu’une partie jug\u00e9e importante, ou significative, de l’h\u00e9licopt\u00e8re, qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 saisie par les Pakistanais, puisse terminer dans les mains des Chinois<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00abThe American troops used thermite grenades to destroy the helicopter’s main body but its rear section was left intact and taken away by the Pakistani military soon after the night raid on Monday. It is feared that if Islamabad refuses a request from Washington for the return of the tail section that the issue could turn into a diplomatic rift.<\/em> []<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00bbPeter Felstead, the editor of Jane’s Defence Weekly, said analysts had carefully studied the pictures and concluded that it was a stealth helicopter that we have not seen before. The Americans will be extremely keen to get the wreckage back but there will also be real concerns about the technology finding its way to China, he said. This kind of technology would be extremely useful to them at this point.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00bbPakistan has a well-established military relationship with China, working jointly on the JF17 Thunder fighter project. The Chinese have exclusive access to a naval port. The People’s Liberation Army is in the early stages of developing an attack helicopter that would benefit significantly from stealth technology. The Chinese are experts at reverse-engineering, using Western technology to develop its own armoured vehicles, warships and aircraft. It recently released photographs of an aircraft that closely resembled the US Air Force’s highly advanced F22 Raptor<\/em>\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tCe dernier point concerne bien entendu l’avion de combat chinois dit de 5\u00e8me g\u00e9n\u00e9ration, le J20<\/a>, dont on fait d\u00e9sormais grand cas. Au reste, et pour accentuer la similitude, sinon des cas, du moins des commentaires et des sp\u00e9culations, diverses appr\u00e9ciations ont \u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e9mises concernant le J20 et ses caract\u00e9ristiques furtives, d’emploi des technologies de la furtivit\u00e9, \u00e0 partir d’informations que les Chinois auraient acquises en disposant d’un acc\u00e8s aux d\u00e9bris d’un avion furtif de l’USAF, un F-117A, abattu au-dessus de la Serbie lors du conflit du Kosovo. au printemps 1999. (Les m\u00eames sp\u00e9culations d’utilisation des d\u00e9bris du F-117A ont \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9velopp\u00e9es pour le chasseur russe T-50, \u00e9galement un avion de combat de la 5\u00e8me g\u00e9n\u00e9ration employant des technologies furtives.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n