On April 29, 2018, at 10: 15, an American "Combat Shadow" test reconnaissance aircraft flew out of the airport.
Two hours later, it was found to have crashed in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean, about 170 nautical miles away from the military port. The nearest naval base sent a search and rescue team to the area of the accident.
The pilot, Bailey, parachuted out and was rescued safely.
After the investigation of the cause of the accident, it was found that when the reconnaissance aircraft was flying at high speed, it hit a foreign object at an altitude of 6,000 meters and its wings were damaged. Because the speed was too fast, the degree of damage continued to expand, and it could not persist in the return flight and finally crashed.
The military employees who investigated the accident found it strange. According to the pilot's description, there were no birds detected at the time of the accident.
It was a very small object that hit it. It was just that when flying at high speed, they did not expect there to be a foreign object at high altitude. The joint detector also did not detect any metal reaction.
Fortunately, in the cockpit video, through the reflection of the pilot's helmet, they saw a blurry image of the object that hit the wing of the aircraft.
"It's a stick. It's definitely not a bird."
"How can there be a stick at an altitude of 6,000 meters? Could it be space junk that fell? "
"Even if it's space junk, falling at an altitude of 6,000 meters, even if the surface is not burning, there must be a falling airflow trajectory."
"But there are none of these. That is to say, this stick was flying at high altitude when it hit? Unfortunately, we only saw a little of the video and can't judge its trajectory. "
"Anyway, it must be space junk. At the time of the accident, the reconnaissance aircraft did not detect any metal products. Maybe the metal content of the foreign object was too low. In that case, if it's not made of heat-resistant materials, it's impossible for it to fall to an altitude of 6,000 meters from space. It should have evaporated long ago. "
Several investigators analyzed for a long time, but they could not figure out what was going on.
A foreign object at high altitude, flying across the sky, the aircraft hit the target at high speed, causing the wing to be damaged. They did not know how to write the cause of this accident in the report because it was more like an attack.
After they reported it honestly, a weapons expert in the military quickly paid attention to this matter.
Dr. Robert said, "It might be some kind of special invisible alloy material that escaped our joint detection."
"The foreign object itself has propulsion, which caused it to be rigid in the air without any support, causing it to crash into the wing."
"This may not be an accident!"
Someone said in surprise, "In other words, it may be a stealth missile? Or a miniature aircraft? "
"It's very likely that this is a new type of weapon that we don't know about yet. In theory, this kind of propulsion is most likely due to the acceleration of falling, but the video proves that this is not a high-speed falling object, so it must have the ability to propel itself. It should be an aircraft," the professor said.
Soon, the ships that were still in the area of the accident reported that no foreign objects were found in the nearby waters, and there were no fragments of foreign objects in the wreckage of the plane.
"It might still be in the air. Send out more aerial search forces."
Although they could not detect this flying object, the search formation aircraft still found a foreign object.
Because the speed of the foreign object was supersonic, as long as one searched carefully at a certain height, they would still be able to see the object that caused the sonic boom.
However, this thing didn't emit any signals. If it hadn't shot down one of their planes and locked onto its approximate trajectory, it really wouldn't have been able to find it from such a high altitude.
"It's a supersonic stealth fighter jet … No, it's not a fighter jet. It's too small. It should be a drone!"
"Even we don't have this kind of supersonic stealth unmanned micro-aircraft technology. Its size is too small. How did you solve the problem of fuel storage?"
"Is it the latest drone?"
"Chase!"
After discovering the foreign object flying at high speed, the military quickly determined the flight trajectory.
They sent out a supersonic fighter jet from the military port to pursue it.
"The target's speed is about 500 meters per second. We'll catch up in five minutes."
"There's such a high-performance drone …"
"Its target might be above the base. Can we shoot it down?"
"No, it's too fast, and the detector can't detect any signals …"
The Merican military quickly sorted out a lot of information about the mysterious flying object.
Although the mysterious flying object's speed was supersonic, it was still a far cry from a real supersonic fighter jet.
What was truly terrifying about it was that it was extremely small and had incredible radar stealth capabilities.
If it wasn't for the fact that it was only flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters, its trajectory would be too obvious. If it was pulled up to an altitude of 8,000 or even 10,000 meters, there would be no way to detect it.
No electromagnetic waves were detected, no control signals were intercepted, and there wasn't even a metal reaction. Its material was completely unknown.
"The previous video showed that this rod-shaped flying object was broken into several pieces after the impact. How is it still able to maintain such a high speed?" Dr. Robert raised his doubts.
"Does it have a nano-repair function?" The others were shocked.
Just as they were puzzled, five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. The pursuing jet sent a message. "I've caught up with it. Its trajectory is very straight. I can attack it. Do you allow me to shoot it down?"
The doctor said, "It didn't change its course? Maybe it's not a flying object, but a warhead? "
"Try to fly parallel to it and send the image over."
Soon, the supersonic fighter jet was about 20 meters away from the target. If the target exploded at this distance, there was still time to dodge.
Flying parallel to it, the image of the mysterious flying object could finally be seen clearly.
After the pilot observed it carefully, he was completely stunned. He immediately sent the image of the foreign object back to the base.
"What? An arrow? "
The so-called foreign object was a pure carbon arrow.
Due to the previous impact, the arrow was already shattered. The arrow shaft was broken into more than a dozen pieces, and the arrowhead was detached.
However, these fragments were still flying at a speed of nearly 500 meters per second.
This was completely baffling. Everyone who saw this scene in the base was dumbfounded.
They were looking for the mysterious flying object, but in the end, they found an even more mysterious flying arrow.
It was a broken arrow. There was clearly no jet stream or rocket propulsion, but it was flying at supersonic speed.
At high speed, the arrow was obviously heating up. There was a small amount of steam lingering on the surface. However, pure carbon fiber material was very heat-resistant. Less than twice the speed of supersonic speed was not enough to burn it.
"It's not burning, but there's steam following it … Is this steam the gas that evaporated when it hit the 'combat shadow'? Why is this gas also following this broken arrow at supersonic speed? "
Dr. Robert looked at the image in shock, feeling the absurdity of the image.
How did this arrow propel itself?
Why could it still propel itself when it was broken?
Why could the gas still propel itself when part of the material had evaporated?
Where was he going with this inexplicable flight?
The weapons expert was stunned by the many doubts he had.
Just as the hall was in dead silence, a colonel said solemnly, "Dr. Robert, please organize the information and send it to me. This matter is classified 3A."
The doctor was stunned. "Huh? Yes … "
The colonel then sent out the information the doctor had organized. Soon, the higher-ups ordered, "Two other supersonic fighter jets have already gone to meet it. Ask the pursuing pilots to cooperate and capture it."
The colonel who received the order immediately passed it to the pilots near the flying arrow.
Not long after, the other two fighter jets were parallel to the flying arrow.
One of them was an unmanned drone. It launched a tight net and successfully captured the scattered flying arrows in an instant.
"Slow down gradually!"
The drone began to slow down, but just as it slowed down, the drone lost its balance!
The metal net at the bottom of the drone was pulled straight, and the flying arrow dragged it to maintain its speed without slowing down at all.
"Lost balance! Lost balance! "
The drone responsible for dragging the arrow spun behind it, but no matter which direction it flew, it could not stop the flying arrow from flying into the sky.
The drone that was flying parallel to it calculated the speed of the flying arrow. It was still 500 meters per second.
"Cut off the net!"
Helplessly, the higher-ups gave the order to abandon the net. The flying arrow parts continued to fly with the net, and the drone took a long time to stabilize.
"Oh my god, what is this?" Dr. Robert looked at the screen and was about to break down.
He could not help but ask, "Is this a UFO?"
The colonel shook his head and did not say anything.
The higher-ups in command also did not respond. They seemed to be discussing how to deal with it.
The three drones responsible for the pursuit could only follow. Time passed by minute by minute.
The flying arrow gradually crossed the United States' base in India. After a while, the planes could not follow. Whether it was the fuel limit or the restriction of the free flight zone, the United States' planes were not allowed to follow the flying arrow around the earth.
At this time, Dr. Robert gradually calmed down. His scholar's instinct allowed him to continue to analyze and think based on this ridiculous foundation.
He seemed to have thought of something and suddenly said, "Huh? It seems to be chasing the time zone? "
"Time zone?" The colonel was stunned.
Dr. Robert controlled the computer and pointed out the flying arrow's path. "Careful comparison, you can see that it is always facing the sun. Its speed is about 500 meters per second. This is 35 degrees north latitude, just a little faster than the earth's rotation speed.
"The flying arrow goes from east to west. If it keeps this speed, it can circle the earth in 24 hours. And during this process, it is almost always at the same time. "
He pulled out the time when the combat shadow was hit and said, "The time of impact is just after 12 noon. The flying arrow flew past India at this speed. When it reached the west coast, it would be 12 noon local time. If it continues to move forward and crosses the Indian Ocean, it will be 12 noon local time when it reaches the peninsula. "
The colonel was surprised, "What does this mean?"
Dr. Robert shook his head and said, "I don't know. It is like an arrow chasing the sun …"
"Chasing the sun? Shouldn't chasing the sun fly straight out of the atmosphere? Why is it circling the earth? "The colonel was puzzled.
Dr. Robert seemed to have thought of something and was calculating crazily. After a while, he suddenly stood up and said, "Actually, it is not circling the earth!"
"I know why it is so fast! It is not following the earth's rotation! So for us, its speed has reached supersonic speed! And it is always under the sun's illumination. "
Dr. Robert quickly constructed a model. In the model, the flying arrow was an anomaly that did not change, and a sphere was rotating on its side.
That sphere represented the earth, and one rotation represented one day. Then for that anomaly, after one day, it would have gone one round above the earth.
"That's not right …"
Dr. Robert quickly overturned this model, because he found that the flying arrow was not stationary relative to the earth. Even if the earth's rotation speed was excluded, it still had a speed of a few meters per second.
This speed was just the speed at which the arrow was leaving the earth's surface.
In other words, its inexplicable propulsion did not just come from the earth's rotation. Even if the earth was not rotating, the flying arrow still had a strange propulsion force that was driving it away from the earth.
It was originally an arrow flying upwards, but because the earth was rotating, its rotation speed was obviously faster than its upward speed, causing it to look like it was flying across the sky.
"Away from the earth's surface … Away from the earth's surface … I understand! It is ascending! "
Dr. Robert quickly began to construct a new model, but he was not very good at this project. He was only a weapons expert.
He could only explain to the colonel, "Colonel, you are right. It is indeed flying 'straight' out of the atmosphere, but its speed is too slow! Its speed is only a few meters per second.
"If an object is in a state of continuous propulsion, and at the same time, it does not exceed the second universal speed, then it will circle around the earth and continue to ascend."
Dr. Robert casually drew a mosquito coil pattern, and then at the end of the mosquito coil pattern, the line directly pulled out a straight line, symbolizing that it had broken free from the restraints of gravity.
"Regarding this inexplicable propulsion, I cannot explain it, but if this propulsion can be maintained, its height will gradually leave the earth's surface at a speed of a few meters per second, and it will eventually leave the earth's atmosphere.
"Due to some reason that I cannot understand, it is always facing the sun, so it does not follow the earth's rotation. The ascending trajectory is just an illusion that we feel from the earth's rotation.
"After it leaves the earth's gravity, it will continue to move toward the sun in the vacuum … forward … until it is swallowed by the sun in the distant future."
The colonel immediately reported this idea, and the higher-ups quickly approved it.
An old professor appeared on the screen, and he said to Dr. Robert, "Your idea is correct. Although it is ridiculous, it might be the truth. This arrow … is unstoppably rushing toward the sun … at an extremely slow speed."
Dr. Robert's expression was ugly. "I was just thinking, but this is too ridiculous. This propulsion out of nowhere allowed it to break through the air's resistance and the earth's rotation."
"There is a reason for its existence. We can only speculate based on the facts. Just now, the arrow suddenly rushed to an altitude of forty kilometers at an extremely fast speed, and our aircraft could no longer keep up. Thankfully, we have placed a detector on the capture net, and it will continue to report the arrow's position and speed to us," the old professor said.
Dr. Robert frowned. "It suddenly accelerated? That's not right. Doesn't this overturn my guess? If its speed can reach forty kilometers per second, why doesn't it just rush out of the atmosphere? "
The old professor explained, "No, your idea is correct. This is still not its own speed, but the speed of the earth's rotation … It is not that the arrow is accelerating away from us, but that it suddenly stopped following the earth's rotation …
"Although this is even more ridiculous, we can only make a series of guesses."
With that, a more detailed model appeared on the screen.
The old professor said, "The idea of the Sun Chasing Arrow that you mentioned is one of the several dozen guesses that we have listed, and it is also the most likely one."
On the 2D model, a dotted line was drawn between the sun and the arrow, and the earth's rotation was not a perfect circle. There were times when it was closest to the sun, and there were also times when it was farthest away from the sun.
If the earth's rotation was closer to the sun, then the arrow would receive the earth's help, and the force pushing the arrow toward the sun would superimpose with the earth's force. This made it seem as if the arrow was following the earth's gravitational force and rotating with the earth.
From this, it could be seen that the previously observed speed of a few meters per second was not the arrow's own speed. It was only because the earth was slightly closer to the sun during that period of time. Under the situation where the direction was the same, the arrow almost never left the earth's surface.
However, if the earth's rotation was moving away from the sun, even if it was just a little, the arrow would not follow. Under these conditions, the propulsion force seemed to have increased by a huge amount. After offsetting the earth's gravitational force, the arrow was still able to maintain its speed of moving away.
Then, from the observation point of view of the people on Earth, the arrow would suddenly move away at an extremely fast speed.
In fact, the arrow did not accelerate. It was just that the earth's speed was too fast, and the two parted ways.
"The distance between the arrow and the sun was not pulled by the earth's gravitational force. On the contrary, the arrow was always facing the sun, and the distance between it and the sun was shrinking at a very slow speed … According to calculations, the arrow would fly at a speed of 45 meters per second in a vacuum after removing all effects.
"Simply put, no matter how much force you give to this arrow, you cannot stop it from flying to the sun at a speed of less than 45 meters per second. On the contrary, it can help to push it forward.
"Whether there is a way to stop this unstoppable 'constant propulsion', we can no longer explore. It is already far away from the earth."
Speaking of this, the old professor felt a burst of disappointment.
Robert was also a little absent-minded. He had never seen such a strange thing in his life of engineering.
It was … It was an alien product.
After the serious thinking based on the absurd reality ended, he began to fall into a state where his worldview had collapsed. The physics in his heart was destroyed by this arrow.
No matter how good the analysis was, it could not withstand the collapse of the basic premise!
Constant propulsion, regardless of whether it was classical physics or subversive physics, could not explain this strange phenomenon.
"Oh my god, where did this Chasing Sun Arrow come from?"
…
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