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11 May, 2011 16:30

China to pillage downed US stealth helicopter

China to pillage downed US stealth helicopter

Pakistani officials may allow China to plunder the treasure trove that is the Osama Bin Laden's compound where the remains of a downed top-secret US stealth helicopter remains.

The helicopter, previously only having existed in rumors, crashed during the US raid of Bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound. US Navy seals attempted to destroy the craft to hide its secrets but some parts managed to survive the explosion – including the uniquely designed tail. The Pentagon has demanded Pakistan turn over the wreckage, but they have not yet done so. Pakistani officials may be more interested however in turning the helicopter over to the Chinese. According to ABC news Pakistani officials said “We might let [the Chinese] take a look,” following Chinese interest in the crafts design.Numerous photos of the wreckage surfaced on the Internet following the raid which killed the al-Qaeda leader. The images show the tail of the helicopter which remained intact and appears to resemble designs used on other stealth aircraft. “[The helicopter] was a secretly developed stealth helicopter, probably a highly modified version of an H-60 Blackhawk,” explained Bill Sweetman, editor of Aviation Week to The Daily Mail. “Photos show that the helicopter's tail features stealth-configured shapes on the boom and tip fairings, swept stabilizers and a 'dishpan' cover over a non-standard five-or-six-blade tail rotor.”Some US officials say they would be more surprised if China has not already swooped in to take a look at the crash site. The days after the raid local children and townspeople were taking pictures of the helicopter. Some were playing on the wreckage. It would have been easy for Chinese agents to walk up, analyze the craft and snap many high-quality images or take video.The White House and the Pentagon continue to refuse to give any comment on the type of helicopter that crashed during the raid.

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