DAGGR55 USAF Dornier Do-328 on ground at Adak Island , AK from Chitose AB JADSDF

from July 24th '20

No, The Air Force's Shadowy Surveillance Test Plane Wasn't Spying On Portland Protesters

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/35088/no-the-air-forces-shadowy-surveillance-testbed-plane-wasnt-spying-on-portland-protesters

from 2015

Meet the U.S. Air Force’s Commando Test Plane

The twin-engined Dornier 328–100 — nicknamed the “Cougar” — looks plain on the outside, but is full of sophisticated hardware on the inside.

It’s the Air Force’s special commando test aircraft, and it’s where engineers test sensors, weapons and other gear meant for gunships, spy planes and other aircraft.

The Cougar is set up to be modular, so almost anything can be inserted into various internal bays and fixed pods, or strapped onto the fuselage using various mounting points. In May 2015, U.S. Air Force Col. Eric Forsyth described the plane’s internal details at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida. Those details include:

• Two external sponsons (750 lbs max)

• Modular fuselage antenna bays (1 top / 2 bottom)

• Ku-Band BLOS [beyond line of sight] satellite data link system

• Nose available for antenna/sensor mount

• Two reconfigurable operator workstations

With jacks for power, Ethernet, GPS and other linkages, engineers can easily install all sorts of gear. These systems would potentially be able to run long-range radars, powerful cameras, high-powered radios, laser range finders and more. The Cougar can carry all of these equipment up to an altitude of more than 30,000 feet. The plane itself can fly more than 1,000 miles at a speed of nearly 400 miles per hour. In 2014, the Air Force bought the plane from Nevada-based aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation. The ultra-secretive 645th Aerospace Systems Group — more commonly known by its nickname Big Safari — currently owns the Cougar.

moar

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/meet-the-u-s-air-force-s-commando-test-plane-ba594f07c48b