Night Stalker MH-47 modifications

[mickjoebill]

Unusual array of black boxes.

At first sight I thought speakers, but probably not the kit for a war machine with the name of “night stalker” :)


https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/35535/night-stalker-mh-47-emerges-with-mystery-modifications-during-training-in-colorado

[RVDT]

PV panels!

[swh]

Looks like a phased-array antenna system for electronic countermeasure equipment to provide reconnaissance and electronic countermeasure capabilities.

[krypton_john]

Radiant heaters to cure a fairly ****ty job of bog panel repairs.

I mean seriously, an actual oil can would be embarrassed.

[sycamore]

They are actually Karman -Hardon bass speakers which `anti-phase` the WOKK-WOK of the blades,so it is essentially a `silent` aircraft,hence the name....

[meleagertoo]

They are actually Karman -Hardon bass speakers which `anti-phase` the WOKK-WOK of the blades,so it is essentially a `silent` aircraft,hence the name....
I've got a feeling you might be right on the money there.
The majority in the blade overlap where most of the slap is generated, but apparently a pair pointing upwards just ahead of the rear pylon and two more pairs aft end of the pylon, pointing up and out (if indeed they are the same thing) pointing pretty much where the tip vortices interract.

Stalker struck me as being a pretty strange name for a Chinook of all things!

[212man]

Surely in order for the noise cancelling to work the speakers would need to be emitting sound waves with the same energy as the actual blades noise?

[ApolloHeli]

Surely in order for the noise cancelling to work the speakers would need to be emitting sound waves with the same energy as the actual blades noise?

For total silence, yes. However any energy output from the speakers in reverse polarity to the blade slap would still quieten the signature.

[meleagertoo]

And if you can get rid of much/most of the slap alone you're a long way down the road of not announcing your presence 10 or more miles away on quiet night.
That would be highly significant in a tactical situaton.

[Bell_ringer]

It is almost ridiculous that anyone would even endeavour to make an aircraft like this stealthy, assuming the supposition is correct.
The physics involved, power, weight required would at best have nominal returns for the effort and cost.
Sounds like someone has too much taxpayer money and is determined to spread it around to friends :E

[Winnie]

Stalker struck me as being a pretty strange name for a Chinook of all things!

Night Stalker is a reference to the 160th, the unit that supports Delta Force and others with MH-6, MH-47 and MH-60. Their motto is "Night Stalkers Don't Quit"

[Copter Appreciator00]

those boxes are speakers so they can play "Ride of the Valkyries" as they fly over the target area

[JimEli]

Radiant heaters to cure a fairly ****ty job of bog panel repairs.

I mean seriously, an actual oil can would be embarrassed.

I believe what you're referring to has nothing to do with shoddy repair work. I think it's simply distortion from a lifetime of (extreme) heavy weight operations. I found watching the adjacent aircraft's airframe twist while flying formation engendered supreme trust in the structural engineers. Consider, when on the ground the airframe's load paths are different.

[brett s]

Yep, common on Chinooks with a lot of hours - and that airframe has been around, first entered service in 1968. It was initially a CH-47C, converted to a CH-47D in the mid 1980's then to a MH-47G in the early to mid 2000's.