193 lines
9.4 KiB
Plaintext
193 lines
9.4 KiB
Plaintext
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SUBJECT: PROBING THE SECRETS OF NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE FILE: UFO2692
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Date: 12-28-89 00:40
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PROBING THE SECRETS OF NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE
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By Steve Douglass
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If you are ever on Highway 6, just outside of the little town of
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Tonopah, Nevada, and you can brave the heat, the rattlesnakes, and the
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isolation of the desert, get out of your car and wait. If you are
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patient enough you just might be amazed by what you'll see.
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At first you'll only hear it, a high-pitched whining sound in the
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distance. Risking eye damage, you squint into the desert glare trying
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to locate the source of the sound. Suddenly you'll see it. It's an
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ominous-looking aircraft, perfectly flat on the bottom, pyramidal on
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the top.
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Roaring across the high desert with its twin tail and swept back
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wings, it looks like a large black swallow. As it gets closer, you'll
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feel the urge to duck down among the lizards and the cacti. Such action
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is meaningless, though, for if you can see it, it can see you. So just
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stand and watch the Nighthawk go through its paces.
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Since the beginning of the year, the F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter
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has been engaged in daylight training missions from its secret base in
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Nevada. Still considered off limits to the press and public, the
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security forces at the base take a dim view of prying eyes. However,
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once in a while the Nighthawk must leave its protective nest.
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It is on these rare occasions, when the Nighthawk is not surrounded
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by razor wire, patrolling dogs or security teams, that is when you
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might catch the F-117A strutting its stuff.
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The secret Tonopah base is part of the Nellis Air Force Base military
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operations area. This secret range, which covers a large portion of
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south central Nevada, is the home of the Air Force's top secret proving
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grounds. Edwards Air Force Base was once the premier testing center but
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now is considered too public to test top secret stealth aircraft. The
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F-117 base on the northwest corner of Nellis is remote and removed from
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all but the most determined.
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The F-117A Nighthawk is the official name of the stealth fighter bu
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those who fly it have nicknamed it "The Wobbly Goblin." At slow speeds,
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the fighter is apparently hard to handle, hence, the odd title. Another
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term for the aircraft is "the sacred airplane" because when people see
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it for the first time they usually remark "Oh my God!"
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A total of 49 are thought to be based on the Tonopah range, also
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known as Mellon Strip. The secret base, located in Area 30 on the
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Nellis range, consists of 72 nuclear hardened, specially built hangers
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for these secret aircraft.
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The pilots who fly the F-117 are members of a new elite unit, the
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445th Tactical Group. Most of the pilots first flew F-111 Aardvarks or
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have Wild Weasel experience. The special unit, known as "Team One-
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Furtim Vigilans" (vigilant by stealth) became operational in 1983.
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Becuase of the secret nature of their missions, the pilots
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are not allowed to acknowledge to civilian air traffic
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controllers what type of craft they are flying. If asked, they
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are to say they are an A-7 Corsair.
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Team One squadron is not the only squadron flying strange-looking
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aircraft on the Tonopah range. The 447th test and evaluation squadron,
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the Red Eagles, is based there as well. The Red Eagles fly authentic
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Soviet fighters. Captured in Afghanistan and turned over to the U.S.,
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Mig 17s, 19s, 21s, 23s, 25s, 27s and Sukhoi Su20 Fighters are flown
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regularly in Nellis' Red Flag war games.
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Occuring almost every eight weeks, the Red Flag exercises are
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conducted in much the same way as the Navy's Top Gun school is used to
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train USAF pilots in dissimilar air combat tactics. What better way to
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train than against real Soviet fighters? To add to the realism, the
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Nellis range even is dotted with real Soviet air defense radars and
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SAMS (surface to air missiles) to give training pilots the feel of the
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real thing.
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There is yet another secret base located in the middle of Nellis.
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Groom Lake, in an area called Dreamland, is known to be the test base
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of the mysterious Aurora and the F-19 stealth fighter. The Aurora, the
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stealth replacement for the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-19, the stealth
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replacement for the F-15 Eagle, is said to be flying from the Watertown
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Strip.
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Teh Air Force has reportedly been testing the two top secret aircraft
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in Dreamland, Area 51, since 1980. (The SR-71 Blackbird was test flown
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in complete secrecy.) Other aircraft likely to be test flown from
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Dreamland in the near future are prototypes for the ATF (Advanced
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Tactical Fighter), the Phalanx Dragon, a stealth helicopter killer, and
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the A-12 (Navy Advanced Tactical Aircraft), a replacement for the A-6
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intruder.
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Although the bulk of stealth aircraft operations seem to be centered
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around Nevada, it is said that stealth aircraft have been seen at other
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bases as well. Last April the USAF said the F-117A would be used at
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bases nationwide to help integrate thge stealth technology within the
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rest of the Air Force inventory. The F-117A has been seen flying near
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Yuma, Arizona; Edwards AFB in Calfiornia, and Kadena AFB in Okinawa.
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Recently it was rumored that F-117s are being stationed at the
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recently opened Roswell Air Force Base in New Mexico. The Roswell strip
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was constructed originally for heavy bombers during WWII and Vietnam
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but closed in the late sixties. Residents of th area report that
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strange aircraft are once again slying out of the base. The White Sands
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missile range is not far from Roswell and the F-117A may be using the
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range to test the stealth cruise missile, General Dynamics AGM-129.
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Another black aircraft program by General Dynamics known
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only as Project 100 is even more secret ahtn all other stealth
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programs. Little is known about the project except that it is
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thought to be test flying out of Holliman AFB near Alamagordo,
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New Mexico, and only at night. A military radio net has been
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heard on various frequencies in the Holloman area (see frequency
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list) and it may be the testing of the Project 100 aircraft.
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MONITORING
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Trying to monitor the secret air force is nearly as hard as catching
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a glimpse of them. Best bets are the HF and UHF frequencies of the
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flight test bases and aircraft manufacturers. Also, a good place to
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monitor would be SAC and TAC frequencies. Another good place to listen
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is air traffic control centers near test areas.
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So get cracking, heat up your set, and maybe you'll be the first to
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monitor the top secret Aurora and F-19!
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FREQUENCIES
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HOLLOMAN AFB, ALAMAGORDO, NEW MEXICO
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Approach 324.3 MHz UHF
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Departure 255.9 MHz UHF
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Holloman flight test net/White Sands
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Primary 260.8 MHz UHF
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Secondary 264.9 MHz UHF
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Other UHF frequencies monitored
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397.9, 353.6, 364.2, 376.1, 189.4, and 251.1
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HF link 9.023 MHz USB
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SATCOM links mentioned 262.925 MHz uplink; 297.525 downlink
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Call signs heard: Sierra Papa, Sierra Pete, Ringmaster,
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Battlestaff, Guardian Papa, Dark Star, Dark Star Oscar
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ROSWELL AIR FIELD, NEW MEXICO
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Approach 239.6 MHz UHF
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Tower 272.7 MHz UHF
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Military Net
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Primary 305.6 MHz UHF
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Secondary 397.9 MHz UHF
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Other frequencies monitored
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259.2, 305.6, 348.7
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NELLIS AFB, NEVADA
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Approach 279.7 MHz UHF
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Tower 324.3 MHz UHF
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Ground control 275.8 MHz UHF
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Clearance Delivery 289.4 MHz UHF
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ATIS 270.1 MHz UHF
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Nellis Military Operations Area
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Dreamland base 255.8 MHz UHF
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Sally corridor 343.0 MHz UHF
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Groom Lake approach 361.3 MHz UHF
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Watertown Strip approach 297.65 MHz UHF
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EDWARDS AFB, CALIFORNIA
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Tower 269.9 MHz UHF
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Edwards command post
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(Conform) 304.0 MHz UHF
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Edwards VHF ground
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control 121.8 Mhz UHF
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Edwards approach 318.1 MHz UHF
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=================================================================
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**********************************************
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* THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo *
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**********************************************
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