From: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com (skunk-works-digest) To: skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Subject: skunk-works-digest V9 #40 Reply-To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com Sender: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Errors-To: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Precedence: bulk skunk-works-digest Sunday, June 11 2000 Volume 09 : Number 040 Index of this digest by subject: *************************************************** Book Review - Blackbird Rising Re: One Man's Tribute to World War II Veterans Re: Book Review - Blackbird Rising Re: One Man's Tribute to World War II Veterans vulnerability of GPS. vulnerability of GPS. F-19 Re: vulnerability of GPS. Re: F-19 Re: vulnerability of GPS. Re: vulnerability of GPS Re: vulnerability of GPS Re: vulnerability of GPS Re: vulnerability of GPS Lockheed U-2 (TR-1A) Boeing E-6A TACAMO *************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2000 22:24:09 -0400 From: Joe Donoghue Subject: Book Review - Blackbird Rising While browsing the flame wars on the rec. aviation. military newsgroup, I was alerted to a new Blackbird book: BLACKBIRD RISING: BIRTH OF AN AVIATION LEGEND by Donn Byrnes and Ken Hurley, 307 pages plus appendices; Pub: Sage Mesa Publications, P.O. Box 2397, Los Lunas, New Mexico 87031; ISBN 0-9673327-0-2 Some details, ordering info and an excerpt are available at: http://www.sagemesa.com/Pages/bbr.html My copy came autographed and personalized by Don Byrnes. I should state here that I do not know the authors and have no monetary interest in the book. I heartily recommend this book. It is a jewel with details that are not likely to be found anywhere else and is a very good read. Both authors were participants in the SR flight test program at Edwards which got under way in early 1965. Hurley's involvement in the RS-12/R-12/SR-71 development dates from 1960 or 1961 while he was stationed at Wright Patterson AFB and working on the RS70 in the morning and the RS-12 OXCART proposal in the afternoons. In this Air Force/SR-71 centered view of Blackbird development, there is not much on the A-12 or YF-12 as Byrnes and Hurley, although briefed on OXCART, mainly worked the Air Force side of the Blackbird program. There is interesting discussion of the Pentagon infighting between RS-70 and RS-12 proponents with a couple of good LeMay vignettes. There are also perspectives on the difficulties of working partly on a black project and partly in the white world. Even while the SR was being Cat I and Cat II tested in the open at Edwards, Byrnes was flying support missions in a Cessna U-3 stabled at the CIA's North Base U-2 detachment. Byrnes flew the U-3 all over the west to manufacturer's plants and other facilities (including Area 51 which they called the "sand pile" - hadn't heard that name before) and it was common for him to file fictitious flight plans as part of security procedures. The book includes tutorials on inertial nav., synthetic aperture radar, pressure suits among other subjects and is a very readable contribution to the Blackbird story. Joe Donoghue ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 00:00:39 -0700 From: Jim Boyd Subject: Re: One Man's Tribute to World War II Veterans This tribute reminded me of another one which never fails to move me every time that I read it. I don't know who to attribute for the first part. If anyone knows, please let me know. To all you vets, my eternal gratitude and thanks. Jim Boyd ...................................................... WHAT IS A VET? Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking. What is a vet? He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel. He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel. She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang. He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL. He is the TRADOC drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each other's backs. He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand. He is the career logistician who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by. He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep. He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come. He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. He is a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known. So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU". ........................................................................ "It is the sailor, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech. It is the Marine, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the airman, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protestor to burn the flag." Father Denis Edward O'Brien USMC ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 03:15:13 -0700 From: patrick Subject: Re: Book Review - Blackbird Rising At 06/03/2000 -0400, you wrote: >While browsing the flame wars on the rec. aviation. military newsgroup, I >was alerted to a new Blackbird book: > >BLACKBIRD RISING: BIRTH OF AN AVIATION LEGEND by Donn Byrnes and Ken >Hurley, 307 pages plus appendices; Pub: Sage Mesa Publications, P.O. Box >2397, Los Lunas, New Mexico 87031; ISBN 0-9673327-0-2 > >Some details, ordering info and an excerpt are available at: > >http://www.sagemesa.com/Pages/bbr.html > >My copy came autographed and personalized by Don Byrnes. I should state >here that I do not know the authors and have no monetary interest in the book. - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-===----==--===-= Mr. Byrnes has an interesting bio. I gleaned this interesting tidbit: Absorbed by the Blackbird development effort, Captain Byrnes was transferred to Edwards AFB, California in July 1964, where he became the SR-71 Sensor Test Engineer and Flight Test Engineer. He left Edwards in 1968 to become Base Commander at Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Returning to the U.S. in 1969 he was reassigned to the SR-71 Program...... How interesting he would be transplanted from the middle of the SR-71 program to a small rock outcrop in the middle of the southern Atlantic ocean to command a group running one of a dozen of the AF's Global Command and Control System communications center scattered around the world. There is also a British Navy radio station at Ascension as well. Hmmmmm? Wait till they hear this on "alt.area51.blackhelos.contrails.grassyknoll" He appears to be publishing the book himself from his home in Los Lunas, not far from Kirtland AFB, NM. thanks Joe, patrick cullumber ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 15:21:58 -0700 From: "George R. Kasica" Subject: Re: One Man's Tribute to World War II Veterans On Sun, 04 Jun 2000 00:00:39 -0700, you wrote: >This tribute reminded me of another one which never > fails to move me every time that I read it. I don't > know who to attribute for the first part. If anyone > knows, please let me know. > > To all you vets, my eternal gratitude and thanks. > > Jim Boyd > Jim: Thanks for a superb tribute. George ===[George R. Kasica]=== +1 262 513 8503 Skunk-Works ListOwner +1 206 374 6482 FAX http://www.netwrx1.com Waukesha, WI USA georgek@netwrx1.com ICQ #12862186 Digest Issues at: http://www.netwrx1.com/skunk-works ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 15:37:44 -0700 From: Timothy Toth Subject: vulnerability of GPS. Not long ago it was announced that some had developped the capability to defeat HARM, it seems they haven't stopped there! Aviaconversiya Ltd. a Russian company, is marketing a portable GPS jammer (8 watt), with a claimed range of "several hundred kilometers"(limited to LOS though). The system is small and light (3-kg, 120x190x70-mm), and is effective againt both the US GPS (1,227 and 1,575MHz) and the Russian GLONASS (1,250 and 1,607 MHz). The sytem can be used to jam the guidance system of GPS guided weapons (Tomahawk, GAM, JSOW etc...) and costs 'only' $40.000. It was confirmed by other sources (US) that such a sytem was effective to up to more than 200km (LOS) from the jammer (against C/A code). However this effective range depends a lot on terrain (LOS again), GPS receiver-mode (which implies the 'miltary' mode has at least some limited resiliance) and jamming waveform. Under typical conditions an 8-watt wideband noise jammer would deny reception up to 40km, and a tone (interference) jammer up to 80km. Solutions are being sought, for eg. the addition of 25dB of 'interference mitigation' (antijam) to GPS receivers, would bring these numbers down to 2 and 4km respectively (still enough to disrupt terminal guidance!). Timothy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 15:37:44 -0700 From: Timothy Toth Subject: vulnerability of GPS. Not long ago it was announced that some had developped the capability to defeat HARM, it seems they haven't stopped there! Aviaconversiya Ltd. a Russian company, is marketing a portable GPS jammer (8 watt), with a claimed range of "several hundred kilometers"(limited to LOS though). The system is small and light (3-kg, 120x190x70-mm), and is effective againt both the US GPS (1,227 and 1,575MHz) and the Russian GLONASS (1,250 and 1,607 MHz). The sytem can be used to jam the guidance system of GPS guided weapons (Tomahawk, GAM, JSOW etc...) and costs 'only' $40.000. It was confirmed by other sources (US) that such a sytem was effective to up to more than 200km (LOS) from the jammer (against C/A code). However this effective range depends a lot on terrain (LOS again), GPS receiver-mode (which implies the 'miltary' mode has at least some limited resiliance) and jamming waveform. Under typical conditions an 8-watt wideband noise jammer would deny reception up to 40km, and a tone (interference) jammer up to 80km. Solutions are being sought, for eg. the addition of 25dB of 'interference mitigation' (antijam) to GPS receivers, would bring these numbers down to 2 and 4km respectively (still enough to disrupt terminal guidance!). Timothy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 17:31:03 -0700 From: David Lednicer Subject: F-19 For years, people have been wondering what the F-19 is/was. Today, I stumbled across the following: TITLE: XF-19 EW suite Document ID: 19770060541 A (77A43393) File Series: Open Literature Report Number: None Sales Agency & Price: Issuing Activity - Copyright Authors: Hartman, R. Published: Jul 01, 1977 Corporate Source: (Corporate Source(s) Not Available) Pages: 6 Contract Number: None NASA Subject Category: AIRCRAFT COMMUNICATIONS AND NAVIGATION Abstract: Electronic warfare (EW) hardware organization in the projected XF-19 U.S. STOL fighter-bomber is described and characterized. The XF-19 is designed for forward area tactical interception of hostile aircraft and missles, or for tactical close air support, with capability of operating from unimproved/minimal/damaged runways, or small ships. The phased array IR warning system, rack-mounted placement of EW modules, responses to hostile treats, detect/preamp/presort equipment, jamming and smart chaff dispensing, and anti-track laser systems are outlined. Limitations imposed by aircraft blind spots, volume and weight penalties, and exorbitant sensitivity (with indiscriminate acquisition of threats and swamping of the system) are considered, in addition to difficulties in transferring signal information and commands to the jammer. Major Subject Terms: AIRCRAFT DESIGN ATTACK AIRCRAFT ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURES FIGHTER AIRCRAFT SHORT TAKEOFF AIRCRAFT WEAPON SYSTEMS Minor Subject Terms: ANTIMISSILE MISSILES AVIONICS BOMBER AIRCRAFT LASER APPLICATIONS MILITARY TECHNOLOGY WARFARE WARNING SYSTEMS Language Note: English Notes: Military Electronics/Countermeasures, vol. 3, July 1977, p. 13, 18, 69, (3ff.). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 17:27:58 -0700 From: Dan Zinngrabe Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS. >Not long ago it was announced that some had developped the >capability to defeat >HARM, it seems they haven't stopped there! >Aviaconversiya Ltd. a Russian company, is marketing a portable GPS jammer (8 >watt), with a claimed range of "several hundred kilometers"(limited to LOS 8w, 1-2Ghz, several hundred km range? Their next announcement will be for inventing the world's most efficient antenna! Dan _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ The software you were born with helps you write code into the wee small hours, find the bugs in your competitors' products, and create fake demos for the first six months of a project. It deserves the operating system designed to work with it: the MacOS. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 11:35:09 +0200 From: Andreas Parsch Subject: Re: F-19 David Lednicer wrote: > > For years, people have been wondering what the F-19 is/was. > Today, I stumbled across the following: > > [_very_ interesting reference to XF-19 snipped] Hello David, could you please tell me, where you stumbled across this? Not that I don't trust you or your source, but this "F-19" business has produced enough amount of false information, hoaxes etc., so I would like to be able to check this new info for myself. Thank you! So long Andreas - -- " 'We apologize for the inconveniences.' (God's last message to His creation)" (Douglas Adams) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 12:12:48 -0400 (EDT) From: Sam Kaltsidis Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS. > >Not long ago it was announced that some had developped the > >capability to defeat > >HARM, it seems they haven't stopped there! > >Aviaconversiya Ltd. a Russian company, is marketing a portable GPS jammer (8 > >watt), with a claimed range of "several hundred kilometers"(limited to LOS > > 8w, 1-2Ghz, several hundred km range? Their next announcement will be > for inventing the world's most efficient antenna! > > Dan > Dan's right... It's been known that GPS is vulnerable since its inception. But an 8-watt jammer with a range of a couple of hundred km is rather far fetched. Keep in mind that the Russians greatly exaggerate the capabilities of their equipment (as does everyone** else who has something for sale, but they OVER DO it). ** with the exception of the US government which routinely under-reports the capabilities of their equipment and rightly so to protect national security. Sam CIO - Dark Entertainment LLC http://www.darkent.com > > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > The software you were born with helps > you write code into the wee small hours, > find the bugs in your competitors' products, > and create fake demos for the first > six months of a project. It deserves > the operating system designed to work > with it: the MacOS. > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 12:06:47 -0700 From: Timothy Toth Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS Yes that 'several hundred km' range is almost certainly an exageration. In fact I think I mentioned in the message that according to american tests it would be more in the 40-80km range for the civilian code (which is less than half of the range claimed by the Russian firm, I guess it was tested against their GLONASS :-) ). But wouldn't just a few km be enough to severely disrupt the accuracy of the new range of GPS guided munitions in service (or soon to be) on the B-2 for eg.? What does one make of the fact that the USAF is fielding all these GPS guided munitions if they know it is that easy to jam? Timothy ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 07:51:19 +0100 From: "Gavin Payne" Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS I think any weapons that use GPS for guidance are said to be resistant to GPS jamming. I believe the military decoding system for GPS has some form of CRC/checksum. - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Timothy Toth" To: Sent: Friday, June 09, 2000 8:06 PM Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS > Yes that 'several hundred km' range is almost certainly an exageration. In fact I think I mentioned in the message that according to american tests it would be more in the 40-80km > range for the civilian code (which is less than half of the range claimed by the Russian firm, I guess it was tested against their GLONASS :-) ). But wouldn't just a few km be > enough to severely disrupt the accuracy of the new range of GPS guided munitions in service (or soon to be) on the B-2 for eg.? > What does one make of the fact that the USAF is fielding all these GPS guided munitions if they know it is that easy to jam? > > Timothy > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 01:58:48 -0400 (EDT) From: Sam Kaltsidis Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS > I think any weapons that use GPS for guidance are said to be resistant to > GPS jamming. I believe the military decoding system for GPS has some form > of CRC/checksum. That possible, although I don't think a CRC/checksum would protect against jamming, it would protect against a false GPS signal however. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Timothy Toth" > To: > Sent: Friday, June 09, 2000 8:06 PM > Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS > > > > Yes that 'several hundred km' range is almost certainly an exageration. In > fact I think I mentioned in the message that according to american tests it > would be more in the 40-80km > > range for the civilian code (which is less than half of the range claimed > by the Russian firm, I guess it was tested against their GLONASS :-) ). But > wouldn't just a few km be > > enough to severely disrupt the accuracy of the new range of GPS guided > munitions in service (or soon to be) on the B-2 for eg.? > > What does one make of the fact that the USAF is fielding all these GPS > guided munitions if they know it is that easy to jam? Please keep in mind that most GPS munitions are GPS assisted and have other means of guidance besides GPS, perhaps less accurate means but other means nontheless. Most weapons and munitions I am familiar with, have GPS as well as inertial guidance and or radar, IR, TV, laser and other classified / non-traditional guidance methods. Granted, any weapons that depend solely on GPS for guidance would be rendered largely if not entirely ineffective by GPS jamming unless they are equipped with GPS counter-countermeasures. > > > > Timothy > > Sam CIO - Dark Entertainment LLC http://www.darkent.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 09:29:14 +0100 From: "Gavin Payne" Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS Doesn't GPS require a signal from 3 or 4 satellites so the receiver can then do something with the 3 or 4 values to calculate the current position. Therefore if you were to send a false signal I wonder how the receiver would interpret this 'out of range' value when calculating the position. Of course if you were to have 3 or 4 of the jammers I guess you could have real fun! - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sam Kaltsidis" To: Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2000 6:58 AM Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS > > I think any weapons that use GPS for guidance are said to be resistant to > > GPS jamming. I believe the military decoding system for GPS has some form > > of CRC/checksum. > > > That possible, although I don't think a CRC/checksum would protect against > jamming, it would protect against a false GPS signal however. > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Timothy Toth" > > To: > > Sent: Friday, June 09, 2000 8:06 PM > > Subject: Re: vulnerability of GPS > > > > > > > Yes that 'several hundred km' range is almost certainly an exageration. In > > fact I think I mentioned in the message that according to american tests it > > would be more in the 40-80km > > > range for the civilian code (which is less than half of the range claimed > > by the Russian firm, I guess it was tested against their GLONASS :-) ). But > > wouldn't just a few km be > > > enough to severely disrupt the accuracy of the new range of GPS guided > > munitions in service (or soon to be) on the B-2 for eg.? > > > What does one make of the fact that the USAF is fielding all these GPS > > guided munitions if they know it is that easy to jam? > > > Please keep in mind that most GPS munitions are GPS assisted and have other > means of guidance besides GPS, perhaps less accurate means but other means > nontheless. Most weapons and munitions I am familiar with, have GPS as wel l as > inertial guidance and or radar, IR, TV, laser and other classified / > non-traditional guidance methods. Granted, any weapons that depend solely on GPS > for guidance would be rendered largely if not entirely ineffective by GPS > jamming unless they are equipped with GPS counter-countermeasures. > > > > > > > > Timothy > > > > > > Sam > > CIO - Dark Entertainment LLC > http://www.darkent.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 08:52:32 -0700 From: "Terry W. Colvin" Subject: Lockheed U-2 (TR-1A) The jewel of strategic investigation Beginning in August 1955, at the height of the cold war between the United States and the USSR, Lockheed very quickly conceived and built the U-2 reconnaissance plane in the famous but highly secret "Skunk Works". Kelly Johnson's design could fly at very high altitudes, making interception virtually impossible. The U-2 was difficult to fly, but had great range (including glide capability) and possessed excellent surveillance systems. The ability of the U-2 to fly above missile ranges frustrated Soviet defences for a long time. Only 53 were built, including five U-2D trainers. Spy downed On May 1, 1960, a U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over the USSR after problems forced the plane to a lower altitude. The U-2 had begun its overflight out of a base in Turkey. Powers was captured and large pieces of his plane were recovered after being hit by a missile. The U-2 played another decisive factor in a still greater crisis of the 1960s, when it detected Soviet missiles being erected in Cuba in 1962. These medium-range nuclear missiles could have hit the southeastern part of the United States. The U-2 was in service for many years in high-altitude military reconnaissance and civil upper atmosphere research conducted by NASA. Lockheed received a contract from the USAF to reopen a production line in 1980 to build a revised U-2 known as the TR-1A; 26 of the new version were built plus two two-seat TR-1Bs. Principal versions U-2A (initial production); U-2R (larger with more fuel); TR-1A (tactical reconnaissance from reopened line); ER-2 (Earth resources for NASA). Principal users Taiwan, USA. Technical Data Type: TR-1A single-seat reconnaissance plane. Engine: one 17,000-lb (7,711-kg) thrust Pratt & Whitney J75-P-13B turbojet. Performance: maximum speed 430+ mph (692+ km/h) at 70,000 ft (21,650 m); service ceiling 90,000 ft (27,430 m); radius 1,500+ miles (2,414+ km); endurance 12 hours. Weights: empty 15,100 lb (6,849 kg); maximum take-off 40,000 lb (18,143 kg). Dimensions: span 103 ft p in (31.39 m) length 63 ft 0 in (19.20 m); height 16 ft 0 in (4.88 m); wing area 1,000 sq ft (92.9 m^2). Armament: none. - -- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@frontiernet.net > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: Fortean Times * Northwest Mysteries * Mystic's Cyberpage * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program - ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Allies, CIA/NSA, and Vietnam veterans welcome] Southeast Asia (SEA) service: Vietnam - Theater Telecommunications Center/HHC, 1st Aviation Brigade (Jan 71 - Aug 72) Thailand/Laos - Telecommunications Center/U.S. Army Support Thailand (USARSUPTHAI), Camp Samae San (Jan 73 - Aug 73) - Special Security/Strategic Communications - Thailand (STRATCOM - Thailand), Phu Mu (Pig Mountain) Signal Site (Aug 73 - Jan 74) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 09:45:15 -0700 From: "Terry W. Colvin" Subject: Boeing E-6A TACAMO Link with submerged submarines The US Navy's force of missile-launching submarines is one of the key components of the American strategic nuclear "triad", and the maintenance of a communications link with these submerged vessels is a difficult task initially handled by the EC-130Q TACAMO (Take Command And Move Out) variant of the Lockheed Hercules turboprop-powered transport. To provide a supplementary type with greater range and speed, the navy contracted with Boeing in April 1983 for the development of a more sophisticated type based on the airframe of the Model 707 jet-powered transport. Complex communications gear The first E-6A flew in February 1987, and the fleet of 16 aircraft is due to enter full service in 1993. The complex and comprehensive communications suite allows the crew to receive data from EC-135 airborne command posts, the E-4 presidential airborne command post, communications satellites, and the emergency rocket communications system. The relevant data are then down-linked to the submarine force via a very-low-frequency and powerful radio system that uses a 4.9-mile (7.9-km) trailing aerial. This is kept in the almost vertical position by a heavy drogue as the E-6A orbits tightly at high altitude. Principal version E-6A (sole model). Principal user USA. Technical Data Type: Boeing E-6A TACAMO 18-crew special communications aeroplane. Engines: four 22,000-lb (9,979-kg) thrust CFM International F108 (CFM56-A2-2) turbofans. Performance: maximum cruising speed 525 mph (845 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m); initial climb rate not revealed; service ceiling 42,000 ft (12,800 m); range 7,300 miles (11,748 km). Weights: empty 172,793 lb (78,379 kg); maximum take-off 342,000 lb (155,131 kg). Dimensions: span 145 ft 9 in (44.42 m); length 152 ft 11 in (46.61 m); height 42 ft 5 in (12.93 m); wing area 3,050.0 sq ft (283.35 m^2). Armament: none. - -- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@frontiernet.net > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: Fortean Times * Northwest Mysteries * Mystic's Cyberpage * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program - ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Allies, CIA/NSA, and Vietnam veterans welcome] Southeast Asia (SEA) service: Vietnam - Theater Telecommunications Center/HHC, 1st Aviation Brigade (Jan 71 - Aug 72) Thailand/Laos - Telecommunications Center/U.S. Army Support Thailand (USARSUPTHAI), Camp Samae San (Jan 73 - Aug 73) - Special Security/Strategic Communications - Thailand (STRATCOM - Thailand), Phu Mu (Pig Mountain) Signal Site (Aug 73 - Jan 74) ------------------------------ End of skunk-works-digest V9 #40 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe in the body of a message to "majordomo@netwrx1.com". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to georgek@netwrx1.com. A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "skunk-works-digest" in the commands above with "skunk-works". Back issues are available for viewing by a www interface located at: http://www.netwrx1.com/skunk-works/ If you have any questions or problems please contact me at: georgek@netwrx1.com Thanks, George R. Kasica Listowner