174 lines
9.0 KiB
Plaintext
174 lines
9.0 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: SECRETS OF DREAMLAND FILE: UFO1418
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Date: 12-28-89 00:40
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From: Michael Corbin
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To: All
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Subj: The Secrets of Dreamland
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========================================================
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(C) Copyright 1989 ParaNet Information Service
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All Rights Reserved unless copyrighted by Author.
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========================================================
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Reprinted with exclusive permission to ParaNet Information
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Service.
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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
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town of Tonopah, Nevada, and you can brave the heat, the
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rattlesnakes, and the isolation of the desert, get out of your
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car and wait. If you are patient enough you just might be amazed
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by what you'll see.
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At first you'll only hear it, a high-pitched whining sound
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in the distance. Risking eye damage, you squint into the desert
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glare trying to locate the source of the sound. Suddenly you'll
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see it. It's an ominous-looking aircraft, perfectly flat on the
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bottom, pyramidal on the top.
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Roaring across the high desert with its twin tail and swept
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back wings, it looks like a large black swallow. As it gets
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closer, you'll feel the urge to duck down among the lizards and
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the cacti. Such action is meaningless, though, for if you can
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see it, it can see you. So just stand and watch the Nighthawk go
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through its paces.
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Since the beginning of the year, the F-117A Nighthawk
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stealth fighter has been engaged in daylight training missions
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from its secret base in Nevada. Still considered off limits to
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the press and public, the security forces at the base take a dim
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view of prying eyes. However, once in a while the Nighthawk must
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leave its protective nest.
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It is on these rare occasions, when the Nighthawk is not
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surrounded by razor wire, patrolling dogs or security teams, that
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is when you might catch the F-117A strutting its stuff.
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The secret Tonopah base is part of the Nellis Air Force Base
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military operations area. This secret range, which covers a
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large portion of south central Nevada, is the home of the Air
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Force's top secret proving grounds. Edwards Air Force Base was
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once the premier testing center but now is considered too public
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to test top secret stealth aircraft. The F-117 base on the
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northwest corner of Nellis is remote and removed from all but the
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most determined.
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The F-117A Nighthawk is the official name of the stealth
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fighter bu those who fly it have nicknamed it "The Wobbly
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Goblin." At slow speeds, the fighter is apparently hard to
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handle, hence, the odd title. Another term for the aircraft is
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"the sacred airplane" because when people see it for the first
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time they usually remark "Oh my God!"
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A total of 49 are thought to be based on the Tonopah range,
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also known as Mellon Strip. The secret base, located in Area 30
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on the Nellis range, consists of 72 nuclear hardened, specially
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built hangers for these secret aircraft.
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The pilots who fly the F-117 are members of a new elite
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unit, the 445th Tactical Group. Most of the pilots first flew F-
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111 Aardvarks or have Wild Weasel experience. The special unit,
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known as "Team One-Furtim Vigilans" (vigilant by stealth) became
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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-
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looking aircraft on the Tonopah range. The 447th test and
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evaluation squadron, the Red Eagles, is based there as well. The
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Red Eagles fly authentic Soviet fighters. Captured in
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Afghanistan and turned over to the U.S., Mig 17s, 19s, 21s, 23s,
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25s, 27s and Sukhoi Su20 Fighters are flown regularly in Nellis'
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Red Flag war games.
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Occuring almost every eight weeks, the Red Flag exercises
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are conducted in much the same way as the Navy's Top Gun school
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is used to train USAF pilots in dissimilar air combat tactics.
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What better way to train than against real Soviet fighters? To
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add to the realism, the Nellis range even is dotted with real
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Soviet air defense radars and SAMS (surface to air missiles) to
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give training pilots the feel of the real thing.
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There is yet another secret base located in the middle of
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Nellis. Groom Lake, in an area called Dreamland, is known to be
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the test base of the mysterious Aurora and the F-19 stealth
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fighter. The Aurora, the stealth replacement for the SR-71
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Blackbird and the F-19, the stealth replacement for the F-15
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Eagle, is said to be flying from the Watertown Strip.
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Teh Air Force has reportedly been testing the two top secret
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aircraft in Dreamland, Area 51, since 1980. (The SR-71 Blackbird
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was test flown in complete secrecy.) Other aircraft likely to be
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test flown from Dreamland in the near future are prototypes for
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the ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter), the Phalanx Dragon, a
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stealth helicopter killer, and the A-12 (Navy Advanced Tactical
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Aircraft), a replacement for the A-6 intruder.
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Although the bulk of stealth aircraft operations seem to be
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centered around Nevada, it is said that stealth aircraft have
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been seen at other bases as well. Last April the USAF said the
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F-117A would be used at bases nationwide to help integrate thge
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stealth technology within the rest of the Air Force inventory.
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The F-117A has been seen flying near Yuma, Arizona; Edwards AFB
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in Calfiornia, and Kadena AFB in Okinawa.
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Recently it was rumored that F-117s are being stationed at
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the recently opened Roswell Air Force Base in New Mexico. The
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Roswell strip was constructed originally for heavy bombers during
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WWII and Vietnam but closed in the late sixties. Residents of th
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area report that strange aircraft are once again slying out of
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the base. The White Sands missile range is not far from Roswell
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and the F-117A may be using the range to test the stealth cruise
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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
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catching a glimpse of them. Best bets are the HF and UHF
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frequencies of the flight test bases and aircraft manufacturers.
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Also, a good place to monitor would be SAC and TAC frequencies.
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Another good place to listen is air traffic control centers near
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test areas.
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So get cracking, heat up your set, and maybe you'll be the
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first to 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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********************************************** |