SEATTLE -- There seems to be an important Boeing connection behind the helicopter raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistan compound. Photos of a tail section left behind has many wondering if it had top secret stealth technology.
The aircraft had to get past Pakistani radar and air defenses, stay for the mission and get back out without being seen. When the helicopter crashed, Navy SEALs blew it up, but didn't get all of it.
A picture of a big piece of the aircraft that was left behind doesn't look like anything seen in helicopters before. The photo of the intact section shows that the tail boom, rotor and horizontal stabilizer appeared to be modified to make the helicopter much less noticeable on radar.
Boeing won't give specifics, but we know the company modifies UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters under a military contract.
Already, some skilled artists have drawn up renderings now circulating on the Internet, showing possibly what the rest of helicopter might have looked like as it swept down onto Osama bin Laden's Compound.
So what are the modifications we can see? First, the tail is covered with extra skin that has obvious angles. The idea is similar to what we see on an F-117 Stealth fighter, which has angles that are set up to make radar bounce away, and not bounce back to a radar receiver that could pick up a target.
There's also a cover on the helicopter which has an angle. That would cover up the complex of control rods and bearings that could also reflect radar signals.
The Army Times is quoting an unnamed special ops aviator who says Boeing designed and modified as many as 15 low-observable MH-60s, a upgraded version of the Blackhawk, and they're in the Nevada desert.
A Boeing spokesperson on Thursday said he could provide no information. The pentagon has also been tight-lipped about the aircraft.
