More recently, in August 2001, Podkletnov and Giovanni Modanese published an article on experiments in which the rotating superconducting disc was subjected to high-voltage electrical energy11. Amazingly, the result was a focused beam of energy that was able to pass through objects seemingly with no attenuation, and that created a small repulsive force on movable objects it encountered. In 2002, Modanese and Chris Y. Taylor published a paper outlining the potential use of an “impulse gravity generator” as part of a beamed propulsion concept in which the repulsive force of the beam could potentially be used to drive spacecraft12. More information on this experimental research and other research involving gravitational effects and antigravity is available on the American Antigravity web site13. While these experiments and concepts are a far cry from the vehicle in Ray Stanford’s images, it is clear that there are interesting connections to be found in the effects generated by disc-shapes, rotating electromagnetic fields, and projected energy beams.
I have realized from the beginning that simply seeing Ray’s images and being able to recognize characteristics of what was happening on and around the vehicles did not give all the answers. No one was likely to run straight to the laboratory and immediately reproduce a functioning model with an energy beam exactly duplicating what was in the film. Still, back in 1993 the physical spike used in Myrabo’s original hypershock tunnel experiments was an effective proof of concept. In fact, the original small black and white image taken in the hypershock tunnel and that first showed the effectiveness of the energy spike was named “DEASM10Proof.jpg”. A physical spike might have been used for the energy source in this initial experiment, but the successful test was clearly considered proof of the “directed energy air spike” concept.
Even more indicative of how new Myrabo’s concept was at the time is the research that has been done by others since then and that references his work. Much of this later research has focused on the possibility of using similar forms of directed energy for a variety of purposes, from drag reduction to controlling airflow without the need for a physical surface to do it. Studies in 2002-200314,15 have demonstrated that a long “needle-like” heat source could also modify shock waves and result in substantial drag reduction16. But, since his earlier shock tunnel experiments, Myrabo’s designs had only shown the effects being produced by directing a single powerful point of energy somewhere ahead of the vehicle. I had not yet seen any research or developments that appeared to encompass a narrow beam of energy capable of reproducing the visual aspects that I recalled in Ray’s images. Then in 2003, in a very interesting development but without any fanfare, a patent was filed for a new invention.
I was amazed that I had not caught it earlier. Searching the Internet again (using Ixquick.com, a great metasearch engine), in the early months of 2005 I stumbled across a paper titled “Lines of Pulsed Energy for Supersonic/Hypersonic Drag Reduction: Generation and Implementation” (AIAA 2004-0984). Written in 2004 with a sister paper titled “Lines of Pulsed Energy – Shock Mitigation and Drag Reduction” (AIAA 2004-1131) these two papers outlined exactly how a beam of energy pulsing rapidly ahead could create a “bubble” that a moving vehicle could effectively ride inside of. This bubble of low-density air, potentially approaching a vacuum, would be formed by the pressure wave created along a beam of laser energy that suddenly heats the air it passes through. In essence, this sudden addition of energy creates an expanding corridor of low-density air that a vehicle can then move through. In fact, the higher pressure that remains behind the vehicle actually produces added thrust! The above two papers were authored by Kevin Kremeyer (the second paper was co-authored with Kurt Sebastian and Chi-Wang Shu) and describe very closely the perceived effects in Ray’s film.
Being able to project a sufficiently strong energy beam over a considerable distance followed the development in recent years of laser technology referred to as “filament formation”. In simple terms, a filamenting laser can be used to create an ionized path through which larger amounts of energy can be sent almost instantaneously. This results in an expanding cylindrical shock wave. The expanding shock wave leaves a corridor of low-density air ahead that expands to eventually surround the vehicle. The benefits are incredible. Drag could be reduced to almost zero, leading to the possibility of vehicles traveling at much higher speeds and over a greater range. Controlling the direction of the beam could even be used as a means to steer the vehicle. Perhaps most amazing of all is that the energy saved in propulsion is always more (up to 65 times more according to AIAA 2004-1131) than the energy put into the atmosphere ahead.
Kevin Kremeyer, founder of PM&AM Research, received a patent for this brilliant invention (No. 6527221). Once again, the defense industry took quick interest in this new development. Interim funding for experimentation on this supersonic drag-reduction method came via a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract from the Tactical Technology Office (TTO)17. The mission of the TTO is development of “high-risk, high-payoff” advanced military systems18. Subcontract work on the project came from the University of Arizona Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department, in Tucson, and the University of New Mexico Physics Department, in Albuquerque. Both the patent and the interest by the defense industry indicate the originality and promise of this new idea.
In looking for information on past drag reduction research, I also came across a paper published in 2004 by Dennis M. Bushnell of NASA’s Langley Research Center. His article, “Shock Wave Drag Reduction” is an excellent review of the various ideas that have been studied for several decades, including Myrabo’s DEAS concept. In his review, Bushnell discusses these different approaches and points out those that are well understood, those under active study, and those that are still in the very early stages of research. Bushnell’s article clearly places Myrabo’s concept among those under active study and showing considerable promise. Coincidentally, Bushnell also cites Kevin Kremeyer’s approach among others in a new class of wave drag reduction approaches. Furthermore, in the same paragraph he mentions that at sufficient ionization or gas conductivity levels shock waves can be weakened by “flow turning by magnetic body forces”. To top it all off, more recent research seems to have validated that energy projected in pulses is more efficient than a continuous beam.19 If Dennis Bushnell’s name sounds familiar it is worth noting that he was quoted nine years earlier in the original AW&ST article on the DEAS concept, published in May of 1995. At that time, Bushnell described the air spike concept as showing imagination, but felt it was restricted in application and would require a “technology stretch in all areas”. As of 2004, while the concept is under active study and shows promise, it appears that the technology has still not stretched far enough to reproduce the vehicles seen and filmed by Ray Stanford in 1985.
Though our own science may build on these concepts, when the post-1993 designs by Myrabo are considered alongside Kremeyer’s recent pulsed energy beam patent, a profound question emerges. If a vehicle was filmed in 1985 utilizing knowledge and technology our scientific community was not capable of yet, perhaps not even aware of yet…then who built it? The fact that Ray actually saw a procession of these vehicles cross the sky brings up even more questions, serious questions in need of answers. Whatever term you apply to what people call this phenomenon, it comes down to sightings of highly advanced vehicles whose presence may hold serious implications. The old claim that our science has not advanced from studying unidentified flying objects may have been clever sidestepping years ago, but no longer. Ray’s own statement to me, “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that UFO research doesn’t pay off.”...will forever be true.
My experience in trying to get this information revealed by both Leik Myrabo and Ray Stanford has caused me no end of frustration. I have great admiration for Myrabo’s vision and out-of-the-box thinking, and I will always be an advocate of the evidence Ray Stanford has been able to gather. I cannot explain his ability to see and recognize “patterns in chaos” as he calls it,
but his observational abilities are truly incredible. His more recent work in Paleontology and his astonishing dinosaur track discoveries are more proof of his unique capabilities. I have always believed that the influence Ray’s film has had on recent scientific advances was not only worth the telling, but is something that unquestionably has to be told. The possibilities it presents for even more incredible advances cannot simply be left up to those who want to know and use it for their own ends but do not want the public to know. Now, to borrow a phrase, the truth is out there.
Who should benefit from advances that come from this phenomenon? Who generally benefits when the public is kept in the dark?
There is another aspect to this story that began to develop as I followed the work and those sponsoring it. I want to emphasize that it is separate from the evidence presented in previous chapters. That evidence is easily visible. The following section will delve into connections that appeared around the evidence; sometimes shadowy connections that became both suspicious and suggestive. The potential significance was enough that I felt compelled to include it here. It relates to concerns I have had for some time about the use, and misuse, of military and government secrecy to suppress information about this phenomenon while perhaps co-opting it for military use.
“There are no coincidences…only the illusion of coincidence.”
—V For Vendetta
Endless rumors have circulated that the NSA, the CIA, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), and countless other groups are involved in some way with the UFO phenomenon. From the beginning however, the Air Force has been in the middle of things. Despite public claims that they no longer have any interest in the phenomenon, the Air Force has definitely been a major presence in the two or three cases on which I have spent the most time. One Air Force organization in particular has been strongly associated with much of the research I have followed in the past years. It has sponsored and supported much of Myrabo’s work, and can be linked through one of its directorates back to the meeting with Paul Bennewitz at Kirtland Air Force Base. It goes by the innocuous title of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
As explained in Chapter 7, I had written to Leik Myrabo (circa mid-1996) to ask if he thought there might be any possibility that what Paul Bennewitz had filmed could have been built somewhere in this country. Because he already knew I was aware of his visit to Ray Stanford, I had hoped that my asking this question would be an interesting exercise, but at least not a problem. He certainly seemed open to hearing my questions, but when I asked about the vehicles Bennewitz filmed near Albuquerque I got no response at all. I never knew what there was about the subject that made it untouchable, if that was the case. But it was only a few months later that I came across information that struck me as very interesting and perhaps suspiciously coincidental. Myrabo had taken an extended sabbatical from RPI, and with Air Force sponsorship he had gone to White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) to conduct experiments on his Lightcraft designs.
Although this development came as a surprise, I was well aware that the military has an interest in many areas of research. In this case, the Air Force happened to have lasers powerful enough to launch the tiny Lightcraft models Myrabo was working with, lasers that were vestiges of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Still, the thought that his ties to the Air Force would almost certainly outweigh any sense of responsibility or obligation to Ray, not to mention others in the public and the scientific community, bothered me greatly. If the Air Force had decided to offer its facilities and support to help him with his experiments, then it had to be considered a fairly influential partner now. His experiments at White Sands came under Phillips Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate, which within a year would become part of the new Air Force Research Laboratory. Soon other connections began to appear.
Before learning about this Air Force connection, I had had no reason to imagine Myrabo’s work would connect to the Air Force Research Lab. Through his work on laser propulsion, both before and after meeting Ray Stanford, it was obvious that he had connections far beyond what I had originally known. I called Ray and passed on what I had learned about Myrabo’s Air Force sponsorship. At that point it seemed like a good idea to look more closely at Myrabo’s previous work to see what other connections he might have.
Before coming to RPI in 1983, Myrabo had worked for several companies that provided research and development services in technologies from lasers to aerospace.20 Many of their clients were in government and military sectors, and some of Myrabo’s work was involved with the Strategic Defense Initiative, more popularly known as “Star Wars”. One of these companies in particular caught my attention because I had seen its name before…BDM Corporation.
BDM was deeply involved in work for the military and considered to be one of the most successful defense consultants in history.21 Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, by the end of the 1990’s it had become a multinational corporation and major military contractor. Evidence of BDM’s strong position was demonstrated in the 1990’s when it was acquired by the Carlyle Group, an investment group well known for its connection to former high-ranking government officials. At the time of the acquisition, the head of the Carlyle Group was none other than Frank Carlucci, former Assistant Director of the CIA. Carlucci was also Ronald Reagan’s Defense Secretary and a long time friend of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
In 1997 BDM was acquired by TRW, another giant in space and defense contracting, in a deal valued at almost one billion dollars. At the time, the CEO of BDM was Philip Odeen, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense working directly under Henry Kissinger22. In 1997, when BDM was acquired by TRW, Odeen became executive VP and General Manager of Information Technology at TRW, and that same year, was selected to chair the National Defense Counsel by William Cohen, then the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Odeen retired in 2002 when Northrop-Grumman acquired TRW, and along with it, the former BDM holdings. In February of 2003 however, Odeen joined the Northrop-Grumman Board of Directors, a 12 member board that currently includes a retired Air Force General who was once Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Especially interesting, from my perspective, is that during BDM Corporation’s long and successful history, its largest operating site—second only to its headquarters in Virginia—was in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The former CEO of BDM International, Earle Williams, first came to New Mexico in the early 1950’s. He was assigned to Sandia Base as an Army Special Weapons Electronics Officer. Under his leadership BDM moved its headquarters to Virginia, ostensibly to be better able to serve its clients, though it certainly also gave Williams closer access to power players in Washington. Throughout this time however, BDM continued to expand its Albuquerque operations until, by 1988, it accounted for nearly 40% of the company’s overall business activities.23 An Air Force budget estimate in 1994 named BDM as one of the top five contractors on a program to study the feasibility of moderate to high power lasers, with growing emphasis on long-range optical imaging.24 It was a program managed by Phillips Laboratory’s Lasers and Imaging Directorate at Kirtland AFB. Soon, the BDM name would turn up in relation to something very different.
In 1990, author and award-winning journalist, Howard Blum, published a book titled Out There: The Government’s Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials. Blum had pursued the subject after learning from a senior official at the National Security Agency that a select group of individuals was secretly studying the UFO phenomenon. The story began in 1985 with a series of unusual reports that came out of another classified project, a project studying an uncanny mental ability to perceive people and places, now called “Remote Viewing”. According to the information Blum was told, the remote viewers had detected saucer shaped objects in close proximity to other targets on which they were focusing. Not long afterward, following a particularly strange case of NORAD tracking an anomalous object, a request had come from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to have the remote viewers try to target the object NORAD had track
ed. The results were significant enough to motivate more open-minded thinkers in the DIA to bring together a well-connected group of scientists, military, and intelligence personnel to look into the whole question of unidentified flying objects. This group came to be called—quite literally—the UFO Working Group.25
In Blum’s story, the man in charge of this “working group” was an Army officer assigned to the DIA, a Colonel Harold E. Phillips. Suspicions soon began to grow that the name was a pseudonym. In 1993, an enigmatic writer using the name Armen Victorian, after talking with Blum, exposed the real head of the Working Group as a Colonel by the name of John B. Alexander.26 Though Alexander at first denied it, some years later he finally admited to it in front of a number of researchers.27 With the 2011 release of his own book, UFO’s, his involvement with this group became public knowledge.
In the early 1980’s, prior to his position with DIA, John B. Alexander had served in the Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), an organization with close ties to the National Security Agency. At INSCOM he worked with programs exploring human potential and was well known for having interests in a variety of esoteric subjects. Perhaps it was no coincidence then that his position with INSCOM put him directly under Major General Albert N. Stubblebine28, another free-thinker open to new ideas. After spending thirty-two years in the U.S. Army, Stubblebine retired in 1984 as Commanding General of the Army INSCOM.29 But it was during his term in charge of INSCOM that the Army had funded—and Stubblebine supervised—the first operational remote viewing unit.
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