The cause of the crash was traced to incorrect installation of several wires to the flight-control system. The computer read the pitch-up as an uncommanded yaw movement and "corrected" for it. Riedenauer never had a chance to get the plane under control.[423]
Soon after, the 4450th Tactical Group received a new commander. Colonel Jackson was replaced on May 16, 1982, by Col. James S. Allen. Although Jackson had organized the unit and started construction of TTR, Allen would oversee flight training and the move to operational status.
In June 1982, aircraft 786 was delivered to Groom Lake, but was used for flight testing. Senior Trend 787 thus became the first plane delivered for the 4450th Tactical Group. In September, this single aircraft became the core of the Q-Unit, nicknamed the "Goatsuckers" (later renamed the 4452d Test Squadron). Major Alton Whitley was picked to make the unit's first operational flight. This was successfully completed on October 15. As with the A-12/SR-71 pilots, he was given a personal designation — "Bandit 150."
As each new pilot made his first flight, he was given his own Bandit number.
Whitley was later given a plaque marking that first flight. It would be another six years before he was allowed to tell his family what the inscription meant. All it said was: "In Recognition of a Significant Event, Oct. 15, 1982."[424]
LIFE AT TTR
Before Christmas 1982, Senior Trends 790, 791, and 793 had been flown to TTR and flight operations had begun in earnest.26 Unlike Groom Lake, all flight operations at TTR were conducted at night. The pilots would leave Nellis Air Force Base on Monday afternoon and fly to TTR on Key Airlines, which operated a shuttle service to the base. Before each night's flights, there would be a mass briefing of the pilots, followed by target and route study.27 The hangar doors were not opened until one hour after sunset.[425]
This meant the first takeoff would not be made until about 7:00 P.M. in winter and 9:30 P.M. in the summer.
For the first year, flights were restricted to the Nellis range. This continued until sufficient confidence had been gained in the aircraft. Even so, it took a presidential authorization to begin off-range flights. In the event of an unscheduled landing, the pilots carried a signed letter from a senior air force general ordering the base or wing commander to protect the aircraft.
Once sufficient aircraft had been delivered, two waves were flown per night. This involved eight primary aircraft and two spares, for a total of eighteen sorties. The aircraft would fly the first wave (called the "early-go"), then return to TTR and be serviced. A second group of pilots would then fly the second wave (the "late-go").
Typically, the training flights simulated actual missions. A normal mission would have two targets and several turn points. On other nights, there would be a "turkey shoot" with some fourteen targets. The pilots would get points for each one; at the end of the night, they would be added up to see who "won." The missions ranged across the southwest, and the targets were changed each time, to make it more challenging.
The targets themselves were also challenging. The infrared system made picking up buildings too easy. Rather, the targets would be such things as a fire warden's shack in a forest, or the intersection of two dirt roads. When it snowed, it was even harder to pick them up, as there was little temperature difference between the targets and the ground. The hardest target was a dock at the Lake Tahoe marina. It was not visible against the cold water of the lake, and none of the pilots found it.
The second wave was completed by about 2:30 or 3:00 A.M. in the winter, a few hours later in the summer. The planes had to be in their hangars and the doors closed one hour before sunrise. After landing, the pilots would be debriefed.
The pilots then began a race with the sun. It had been found that sleep is disrupted if a person tries to go to bed after seeing the sunrise. Like vam-pires, they had to be indoors before the sun rose.[426] They would sleep six or seven hours, then begin their twelve-hour "day" again. Each pilot would make two or three flights during each four-day period at TTR. One of these flights would involve an in-flight refueling. During a month, each pilot would make ten to twelve flights in the Senior Trend and another five or six A-7 flights.[427] This took its toll — by Thursday night they were "a wreck."
Friday afternoon, the pilots would pack up and fly back to Las Vegas to their families and a normal day-night cycle. They would spend the weekend at home, then start it all over again Monday afternoon.[428]
Security affected everything the pilots and ground crews did. The pilots could call home from TTR every day but could not say where they were.
Nor did the families know what they were doing while they were gone. One pilot's wife told her children that their father was "at work." The whole situation took its toll on the pilots and their families.[429] One consolation was a sign in the ready room—"Someday They'll Know."[430]
The area around TTR was closely monitored. If a truck was seen in the hills around the base, it would be checked out, as were airplanes flying near the base's restricted airspace. Trips into Tonopah were also discouraged — security did not want a lot of air force uniforms visible.
Internal security at the base was extremely important. The operations building had no windows; it was a giant vault. Within the building was another vault room where the aircraft flight manuals were stored. When in use, the manuals always had to be in the pilot's physical possession — if a pilot had to go to the bathroom, his manuals were given to someone or returned to the vault.[431]
Before personnel were allowed access to the flight line, they underwent an electronic palm print scan.[432] During training flights, security also had to be maintained. On off-range flights, the pilots talked to the air traffic controllers as if they were in an A-7. Each plane also carried a transponder that indicated to radar operators that it was an A-7. Even though the planes flew only at night, special care was taken to avoid sightings. The routes avoided big cities. If a plane flew under a high overcast, the reflected city lights would silhouette it against the clouds. The phase of the moon also affected flight operations. Several routes were not flown if the moon was more than 50 percent full.[433]
SENIOR TREND TACTICS AND ROLES
The Senior Trend aircraft represented a complete break with past attack aircraft and, accordingly, needed a whole new set of tactics. Conventional tactics were intended to prevent the plane from being shot down — the attack was secondary. The plane would hug the ground to escape radar detection.
When the target was reached, the plane would have to pop up to a higher altitude to release the bombs. Such low-altitude, high-speed attack profiles made LGB drops difficult.
The Senior Trend, on the other hand, could go in at high altitude. This allowed the pilot to concentrate on the attack, rather than on avoiding hitting the ground. The high-altitude flight also permitted the target to be picked up at much longer ranges. In addition, the drop was made while flying straight and level. This meant the bomb would hit the target vertically, improving accuracy and penetration.[434]
The pilots talked tactics every day. In a sense, they were trying to define the role of the airplane. A new technology had been developed and they had to discover how best to use it, much as airpower theorists had done in the 1920s and 1930s.
Originally, the air force envisioned only a single squadron of eighteen Senior Trend aircraft. These would be used for Delta-Force-type missions.
One or two planes could attack a single, high-value target without being detected. The early success of the program, however, convinced the air force and Congress that a full wing was needed. This involved three eighteen-plane squadrons. Orders were placed with Lockheed for a total of fifty-nine production aircraft. The first of these added squadrons, the I-Unit "Nightstalkers," was activated in July 1983, followed in October 1985 by the Z-Unit "Grim Reapers" (later redesignated the 4450th Test Squadron and the 4453d Test and Evaluation Squadron respectively).
The pilots doubted that there was a role for even a two-squadron unit: this was con
sidered too large a force for limited clandestine missions, and participation in any general war scenarios was not foreseen. Part of the problem was the planes' extreme secrecy. A plan for using the full wing could not be developed when even the senior air force commanders in Europe and the Pacific had not been told about the aircraft. Nor was it possible to use the plane in Red Flag exercises.[435]
TO THE BRINK
A year after Whitley's first flight, the Senior Trend was prepared to go to war.
On October 23, 1983, terrorists launched a truck-bomb attack on the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 and wounding 100 others.[436]
Five days later, the 4450th Tactical Group was declared to have achieved an initial operational capability. Reportedly, orders were also received to prepare for attacks on PLO camps in southern Lebanon, in retaliation for the Beirut bombing. The unit was alerted and five to seven aircraft were armed.
According to these reports, the aircraft flew from TTR to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The planes were placed in hangars, and the pilots rested for forty-eight hours. The pilots then began their final preparations before takeoff. They would fly nonstop to southern Lebanon and strike terrorist targets.
Only forty-five minutes before takeoff, they received word that Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger had canceled the strike.[437] Over two years would pass before Senior Trend again went to the brink.
In the years following the aborted attack, the 4450th Tactical Group saw changes in command. Colonel Allen was replaced by Col. Howell M. Estes III on June 15, 1984. Colonel Estes led the unit through its first operational readiness inspection, earning a rating of excellent. On December 6, 1985, Col. Michael W. Harris was named commander. He oversaw the expansion to three squadrons and was the first operational pilot to reach three hundred hours in the Senior Trend.[438]
Soon after, the unit was reportedly alerted for a second possible combat mission. The erratic leader of Libya, Col. Mu'ammar al-Gadhafi, had long been suspected of backing terrorist attacks. Proof was lacking, however.
During the evening of April 4, 1986, a message from the Libyan embassy in East Berlin was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence saying a bombing was about to take place and that American soldiers would be hit.
Just before 2:00 A.M. on April 5, a bomb exploded in the La Bella Disco-theque, killing two GIs and a Turkish woman. Minutes later, the Libyan embassy sent a coded message that the operation had succeeded and could not be traced to them. These decoded messages were the "smoking gun" of Libyan involvement. Approval was given four days later to attack Libya.[439]
Libyan air defenses were more numerous than those of North Vietnam more than a decade before. Indeed, only three targets in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries were better defended than Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya. The Senior Trend aircraft was judged ideal for such a mission and was reportedly included in the attack plan. It has been stated that less than an hour before takeoff, Weinberger again canceled their participation, on the grounds that the targets were not worth risking the planes.
The rest of the attack, code-named "Operation El Dorado Canyon," went forward on April 15, 1986, using F-llls from England and A-6s, A-7s, and F/A-18s from two carriers. All five target areas were hit, with the loss of one F-111.[440] It would be another three years before the Senior Trend would see action.
NAMES AND PATCHES
Secret symbols have long been associated with the Dark Eagles, but the tradition reached new heights with the Senior Trend program. "Senior Trend" was a computer-generated code name with no meaning or style. It cried out for a nickname.
The plane's first one came during the flight-test program. After finding a "huge" scorpion in their office area, the test team adopted this as their symbol. The FSD aircraft were dubbed Scorpion 1 through 5.[441] The scorpion symbol also found its way onto patches. One showed a black scorpion and the words "Baja Scorpions" (a reference to their location in "Baja" [southern] Groom Lake). Another showed a scorpion and a black T-38 trainer and "Scorpion FTE" (flight test and evaluation). The FSD 4 aircraft had its own patch — a red delta shape with the number "4" and a black scorpion super-imposed over it. The shape was based on the wing of the plane.
The "Pete's Dragon" aircraft also had its own patch — a black shield with a green dragon and "Pete's Dragon" in red. Another patch showed a green dragon and "Dragon Test Team." Such patches were not seen as a security problem. None of them showed the aircraft, and one had to be part of the program to understand the symbolism.[442]
Other than the "Pete's Dragon" design, artwork on the FSD aircraft was limited. The most spectacular exception occurred in 1984, when Weinberger went to Groom Lake. As part of the display of Black airplane activities, a Senior Trend made a flyby. The plane approached the reviewing stand from the south and banked to show its top surface. As it reached the center of the crowd, the plane banked again and showed a flag design painted on its underside. The crowd went wild.[443]
The 4450th Tactical Group had its own names and patches. Upon seeing the odd-looking plane for the first time, the air force pilots dubbed it the
"Cockroach." Later, reflecting its role as a nocturnal predator, the air force pilots dubbed the plane the "Nighthawk." It was also called "the Black Jet," to differentiate it from the camouflaged A-7.[444]
Squadron patches had been an air force tradition dating from World War I. This continued with the 4450th Tactical Group. The patch for the Q-Unit showed an A-7 chasing a goat and the words "Goat Suckers." (As any bird watcher would know, the North American Nighthawk is also called the Goatsucker.) The I-Unit patch showed a hawk swooping out of the night sky and the word "Nightstalkers." The Z-Unit patch showed a hooded figure pointing a bony hand at the viewer and the title "Grim Reapers."[445]
In all, about forty patches are known to be related to the aircraft. These included patches related to individual test programs. Even the C-5 flight crews that picked up the completed aircraft at Burbank had their patch — a black circle with a white crescent moon and a large question mark. On a tab at the top of the patch was "DON'T ASK!" while another tab at the bottom carried the enigmatic letters "NOYFB."[446]) And then there was the plane's designation. Pilots flying Black airplanes at Groom Lake logged their flight time with the code "117." When the Senior Trend began to fly, Lockheed started referring to it as "117" until the actual designation could be given. When Lockheed printed the first copies of the Dash One Pilot's Manual, F-117A was printed on the cover.[447] For year after year, the "F-117A" remained secret. But it was a secret that was proving harder and harder to keep.
LEAKS
The incoming Reagan administration increased the secrecy surrounding the stealth program. Although several projects would remain unknown for a decade and more, the effort was not entirely successful with the stealth fighter.
In June 1981, an article in Aviation Week and Space Technology said the Lockheed demonstrator aircraft was undergoing tests against Soviet equipment. It described the aircraft as "rounded" in shape.[448] In October 1981, Aviation Week carried another article, which said the Lockheed stealth fighter "will fly this year." (In fact, it had flown nearly four months before.) It also stated that the Fiscal 1983 budget was about $1 billion, that twenty aircraft were on order, and that they would be delivered within two years (essentially correct). The aircraft was described as resembling the space shuttle's wing platform (very wrong).[449]
The plane also acquired a "designation." Since the Northrop F-5G had been redesignated "F-20" in 1982 and the previous fighter was the F/A-18, it was assumed that "F-19" was the (secret) designation of the stealth fighter.[450]
By 1983, artists' conceptions of the F-19 began to appear. The general pattern was a long SR-71-like fuselage, elliptical wings at the rear, a bubble canopy, canards, and twin inward-canted fins. As it was now known the SR-71 had a reduced RCS, it was assumed the "F-19" was similar.[451]
In November 1983, Defense Week carried an article indicating two squad
rons would be built. Again, stealth was described as relying on "curved airframe surfaces, inset engines, [and] rounded inlets." The article also revealed a stealth aircraft had crashed in "mid-April 1982" (the loss of the first production aircraft). At the same time, it noted that "some experts scoff at the suggestion that the Air Force could deploy 40 stealth fighter planes in the western deserts without public knowledge. Others speculate that these first stealth fighters rely on techniques to absorb or distort radar signals, and to the untrained eye do not appear radically different from other fighter planes, despite their somewhat smaller size."[452]
These accounts were in the technical press and so had little impact on the public. This changed in May 1986, when the F-19 arrived at the local hobby shop.
THE TESTORS F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER
Among those following the stealth story was the Testers Corporation. In 1985, they began work on a conceptual model of the F-19. The design was based on technical data, such as the Radar Cross Section Handbook, on a description from an airliner pilot of a black airplane seen over Mono Lake in 1983, and on the various published reports.
The design was well thought-out, looking like "a high-tech water beetle." It had inwardly canted rudders, curved surfaces, and blended air inlets. Testers was even able to test it in a San Diego defense contractor's RCS test range.
This indicated problems with the intakes, which were corrected in the final design.[453]
The basic flaw was that it followed the SR-71 idea of stealth, and the report that the F-19 had a double delta wing platform like the space shuttle.
Although it was described as being about "80 percent accurate," only two features were correct — the pilot tube and the platypus exhaust.[454] Yet only Lockheed and the F-117 pilots knew. With the rest of the world, the F-19 kit was an immediate best seller. In the next eighteen months, nearly 700,000 copies were sold.[455]
Dark Eagles: A History of the Top Secret U.S. Aircraft Page 24