The ARES small jet is now flying alongside its successors - Model 401 'Son of Ares' jets - over the Mojave Desert, The War Zone reported on Sunday.
Mysteriously enough, the article provided images that captured the jet wearing a mirror, metallic-like "coating", pretty similar to what previous tests of the Model 401s looked like. In addition, the ARES jet reportedly had an antenna with a "barcode" on its spine, but it is unclear what for.
It is noticeable, that tests involving the Scaled Composites' "mirror" have become quite frequent in recent years.
Military and intelligence experts suggest that the reflective coating indicates that the ARES family is involved in some coatings testing. This could include research on the reflectivity of aerial targets, signature testing, or sensor systems.
Another report suggested that the metallic coating is designed to reflect combat lasers, referring to the first flight of a mirror plane that took place several months ago over the China Lake airbase. The mirror jet was accompanied by another creation of Scaled Composites - the Proteus, which, in that case, could allegedly have been used as a carrier of laser weapons.
