DAIMLER-BENZ AEROSPACE (DASA) HAS released the first photographs of what is believed to be the 16m (50ft)-long full-size-scale airframe which MBB constructed for a top-secret stealth-research programme during the mid-1980s (Flight International, 8-14 March). The purpose of the project, known as the Lampyridae (Firefly) or the Medium-Range-Missile Fighter, was to develop a highly aerodynamic fighter with a forward radar-section in the X-band some 20-30dB below that of a conventional fighter. The pictures reveal a polyhydral airframe, with multi-faceted surfaces, a triangular wing platform and a triangular engine-intake duct, with central splitter, for a single power plant. A 12m-long manned model of the Firefly was tested 15 times at "speeds" of up to 120kt (220 km/h) in the German-Dutch wind tunnel at Emmeloord in 1987.
Source: Flight International