From owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Mon Mar 22 10:51:05 2010 Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:50:28 -0500 From: skunk-works-digest Reply-To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com To: skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Subject: skunk-works-digest V16 #7 skunk-works-digest Monday, March 22 2010 Volume 16 : Number 007 Index of this digest by subject: *************************************************** skunk-works joining the list skunk-works ABCCC - Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center [new subj] skunk-works Fw: *What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?* skunk-works Fw: [tlc-brotherhood] Fw: Model Airplane RC SCR-71 skunk-works Fw: [tlc-brotherhood] U-2 to continue skunk-works ABCCC skunk-works Fw: [the-tlc-mission] U-2 Dragon Lady skunk-works The Air Force versus Hollywood skunk-works Ride in a U-2 skunk-works Re: Ride in a U-2 skunk-works Fw: [tlc-brotherhood] U-2 and predator sensors for Haiti? skunk-works Skunkworks - Legacy of the Secret Heroes skunk-works U2 Article in the NY Times *************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:53:20 +1100 From: "miltech.fms" Subject: skunk-works joining the list Terry. I have an ex USN colleague who wants to joing the mailing list but I've lost the details on doing so. can you please send me the correct syntax etc for him to use? regards gary ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 05:43:13 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works ABCCC - Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center [new subj] Check out TLCB member Ray Roddy's book CIRCLES IN THE SKY, THE SECRET WAR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA A COMMAND AND CONTROL PERSPECTIVE http://www.abtriplec.com/ Mac On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 8:57 AM, Steve Littlefield wrote: I have found over time that almost everyone confuses the "King" aircraft with our ABCCC. I guess because none ever heard of us..ABCCC, unless they flew... I finagles a flight with King one time..Interesting how they ran a SAR compared with us...It seemed kike the co-pilot held a plastic board with some info on it..But then again, I guess that's what we did, our board was just bigger!!'' Take care guys, Steve Steve Littlefield 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron Korat RTAFB 72-73 Thailand-Laos-Cambodian Brotherhood Member #P711 --- On Sat, 1/2/10, 'Doc' Wagner wrote: From: 'Doc' Wagner Subject: Re: [the-tlc-mission] O-1 and O-2 FAC Videos To: the-tlc-mission@nexus.net Date: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 3:48 PM Enjoyed these, Gerry. The A-V guys obviously didn't ask an SEA for advice before including an HC-130 in the clip with an FRS on the nose. The narrator says O-1 sorties were 2-3 hours. Can't comment on that, but our O-2 sorties out of Ubon were rarely less than 4 hours. We'd be on trail watch for two hours, but took us an hour each way to most target areas in Steel Tiger. I carried an 8mm movie camera on several F-4D & O-2 sorties, but monsoon water damage turned 'em into green mold. 'Doc' Wagner 8th TFW Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 06:10:12 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Fw: *What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?* - -----Forwarded Message----- >From: Terry Colvin >Sent: Jan 6, 2010 2:33 AM >To: "U-Tapao@yahoogroups.com" , Skeptic >Subject: *What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?* > > [the-tlc-mission] "What was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?" >Date: Jan 5, 2010 5:52 PM >From an old friend of mine. > >Bob Harris >NKP 66 to 67 > >----- Original Message ----- >From: Fred Zimmerman >"what was the slowest you ever flew the Blackbird?" > > > As related by a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote speaker... > Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot via Plane and Pilot Magazine | Brian Shul, Retired SR-71 Pilot > > As a former SR-71 pilot, and a professional keynote > speaker, the question I'm most often asked is "How fast would that SR-71 > fly?" I can be assured of hearing that question several times at any event I > attend. It's an interesting question, given the aircraft's proclivity for > speed, but there really isnt one number to give, as the jet would always > give you a little more speed if you wanted it to. It was common to see 35 > miles a minute. Because we flew a programmed Mach number on most missions, > and never wanted to harm the plane in any way, we never let it run out to > any limits of temperature or speed. Thus, each SR-71 pilot had his own > individual high speed that he saw at some point on some mission. I saw > mine over Libya when Khadafy fired two missiles my way, and max power was in > order. Lets just say that the plane truly loved speed and effortlessly took > us to Mach numbers we hadn't previously seen. > So it was with great surprise, when at the end of one of > my presentations, someone asked, what was the slowest you ever flew the > Blackbird? This was a first. After giving it some thought, I was reminded > of a story that I had never shared before, and relayed the following. > I was flying the SR-71 out of RAF Mildenhall, England, > with my back-seater, Walt Watson; we were returning from a mission over > Europe and the Iron Curtain when we received a radio transmission from home > base. As we scooted across Denmark in three minutes, we learned that a small > RAF base in the English countryside had requested an SR-71 fly-past. The air > cadet commander there was a former Blackbird pilot, and thought it would be > a motivating moment for the young lads to see the mighty SR-71 perform a low > approach. No problem, we were happy to do it. After a quick aerial refueling > over the North Sea, we proceeded to find the small airfield. > Walter had a myriad of sophisticated navigation equipment > in the back seat, and began to vector me toward the field. Descending to > subsonic speeds, we found ourselves over a densely wooded area in a slight > haze. Like most former WWII British airfields, the one we were looking for > had a small tower and little surrounding infrastructure. Walter told me we > were close and that I should be able to see the field, but I saw nothing. > Nothing but trees as far as I could see in the haze. We got a little lower, > and I pulled the throttles back from 325 knots we were at. With the gear up, > anything under 275 was just uncomfortable. Walt said we were practically > over the field yet; there was nothing in my windscreen. I banked the jet and > started a gentle circling maneuver in hopes of picking up anything that > looked like a field. Meanwhile, below, the cadet commander had taken the > cadets up on the catwalk of the tower in order to get a prime view of the > fly-past. It was a quiet, still day with no wind and partial gray overcast. > Walter continued to give me indications that the field should be below us > but in the overcast and haze, I couldn't see it. The longer we continued to > peer out the window and circle, the slower we got. With our power back, the > awaiting cadets heard nothing. I must have had good instructors in my flying > career, as something told me I better cross-check the gauges. As I noticed > the airspeed indicator slide below 160 knots, my heart stopped and my > adrenalin-filled left hand pushed two throttles full forward. At this point > we werent really flying, but were falling in a slight bank. Just at the > moment that both afterburners lit with a thunderous roar of flame (and what > a joyous feeling that was) the aircraft fell into full view of the shocked > observers on the tower. Shattering the still quiet of that morning, they now > had 107 feet of fire-breathing titanium in their face as the plane leveled > and accelerated, in full burner, on the tower side of the infield, closer > than expected, maintaining what could only be described as some sort of > ultimate knife-edge pass. > Quickly reaching the field boundary, we proceeded back to > Mildenhall without incident. We didnt say a word for those next 14 minutes. > After landing, our commander greeted us, and we were both certain he was > reaching for our wings. Instead, he heartily shook our hands and said the > commander had told him it was the greatest SR-71 fly-past he had ever seen, > especially how we had surprised them with such a precise maneuver that could > only be described as breathtaking. He said that some of the cadets hats > were blown off and the sight of the plan form of the plane in full > afterburner dropping right in front of them was unbelievable. Walt and I > both understood the concept of breathtaking very well that morning, and > sheepishly replied that they were just excited to see our low approach. > As we retired to the equipment room to change from space > suits to flight suits, we just sat there-we hadn't spoken a word since the > pass. Finally, Walter looked at me and said, One hundred fifty-six knots. > What did you see? Trying to find my voice, I stammered, One hundred > fifty-two. We sat in silence for a moment. Then Walt said, "Don't ever do > that to me again!" And I never did. > A year later, Walter and I were having lunch in the > Mildenhall Officers club, and overheard an officer talking to some cadets > about an SR-71 fly-past that he had seen one day. Of course, by now the > story included kids falling off the tower and screaming as the heat of the > jet singed their eyebrows. Noticing our HABU patches, as we stood there with > lunch trays in our hands, he asked us to verify to the cadets that such a > thing had occurred. Walt just shook his head and said, "It was probably just > a routine low approach; theyre pretty impressive in that plane". Impressive > indeed. > Little did I realize after relaying this experience to my > audience that day that it would become one of the most popular and most > requested stories. Its ironic that people are interested in how slow the > worlds fastest jet can fly. Regardless of your speed, however, its always > a good idea to keep that cross-check upand keep your Mach up, too. Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 19:28:13 +0700 (GMT+07:00) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Fw: [tlc-brotherhood] Fw: Model Airplane RC SCR-71 - -----Forwarded Message----- > >Just got this from one of my old Pilots from England(HH-43's) >Bill Jaynes > > This might be one of the coolest things I've seen this year. > >This is a most amazing Remote Controlled >[RC] model airplane - click link below to see it fly. Not only did they >build its jet engines, but included retractable landing gear, and built it >into a fully scaled model of the SR-71 that is good enough to fly. This >SR-71 model was built by some German RC enthusiasts, and this is one nifty >toy - and sounds REAL! http://www.fark.com/cgi/vidplayer.pl?IDLink=4464984 Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 14:43:31 +0700 (GMT+07:00) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Fw: [tlc-brotherhood] U-2 to continue - -----Forwarded Message----- This sounds like the old AF I knew. Still on Fire: he Air Force's fleet of high-flying U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft has proved to be such an invaluable tool in fighting the counterinsurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq that there is no rush to retire these venerable Cold War platforms until their successors, RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft, are firmly in place with no drop off in capability. Stars and Stripes reported Wednesday that U-2s now give direct tactical support to ground troops, delivering battlefield pictures and eavesdropping electronically, two missions no single unmanned platform can pull off today. While a later Global Hawk variant, the Block 30, is designed to do both, it is just entering the inventory and needs to be retrofitted with its SIGINT package. These Global Hawks are scheduled to arrive in the war zone next year. Once they have proved themselves in this role, thenB- and only thenB- will U-2s be phased out. Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 10:11:42 +0000 From: wayne binkley Subject: skunk-works ABCCC RE: ABCCC article in recent post. I admit i didn't read every thing on every page but I could find no mention of air crews from CCK AB Taiwan, yet I personally flew quite a few of these mission and it was a regular thing for My Sqd,the 345 TAS. I remember staying on station even thou we lost 1 engine ( no problem if you have burnt off enough fuel) from a tactical air lifter point of view I must say it was the longest most boring 13 hr flights I ever flew. The T/O was another story the only good thing about it was we quickly ran out of the max flying time allowed on a monthly or quarterly basis although a quick visit to the Flight Surgeon would get you a waiver. We could listen to some of the radio traffic but never had the "big picture" so didn't really know what was going on. We new the job was important but the front end crew was looked at basically as airborne bus drivers an didn't seem to get any respect,just bitched at once in a while so we new who was really in command of the airframe. the pilot could abort the mission only if it was unsafe ( in his opinion) to continue and after checking with higher authority, or just do it if he felt it was necessary. I also think we operated at higher T/O weights than mentioned in the article, but I will be 70 this month so I could be wrong. Normal max T/O weight,155,00 lbs,EWP 175,000 lbs ,I believe that I once took off at 183,000 lbs,very scary because the acft would not climb and you had to skim the trees at the end of the runway,without much of a climb while slowly "milking" the flaps up hoping and praying that you didn't have an engine failure before reaching 3 engine minimum control speed. If you did your only option was to crash land dead ahead,if it was an outboard. you would have no choice but to pull the symmetrical eng back to where the rudder could maintain straight ahead but you could not maintain level flight at that weight.Of course we raised the gear just as soon as we had a positive rate of climb. As we gradually gained airspeed we could make very small rate turns but as we came back parallel ( downwind)we would still only be at a few hundred feet,still trying to get airspeed to start a very slow climb and burning off a lot of fuel with the rate of climb just barely 100 FPM. I sometimes wondered if the back end crew realized how dangerous these heavy weight T/Os were at that temp..Just the way i remember it a long time ago. Feel free to fwd/post this where you want to as I am sure other's might have different recollections.Wayne D. Binkley Tsgt USAF (Ret.),C-130 F/E wayne d.binkley _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390708/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:47:07 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Fw: [the-tlc-mission] U-2 Dragon Lady - -----Forwarded Message----- From: Bob Wheatley Sent: Jan 13, 2010 6:27 AM To: the-tlc-mission@nexus.net Subject: [the-tlc-mission] U-2 Dragon Lady For you U-2 buffs. http://www.military.com/news/article/air-force-delays-retiring-u2-spy-plane.html?ESRC=airforce.nl Bob Wheatley Air Force Lingy Sergeant, USAF Security Service Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:04:57 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works The Air Force versus Hollywood http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb304/index.htm The Air Force versus Hollywood Documentary on "SAC Command Post" Tried to Rebut "Dr. Strangelove" and "Fail Safe" Cold War Documentaries Present the Air Force's Spin on Airborne Alert, the "Missile Gap," and Nuclear Command and Control; Films Premiered On-line in the National Security Archive's Nuclear Vault Edited by William Burr Underground Command Post at Strategic Air Command Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base. Still taken from Air Force Special Film Project 1236, "SAC Command Post" Washington, D.C., January 15, 2010 - To refute early 1960s novels and Hollywood films like Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove which raised questions about U.S. control over nuclear weapons, the Air Force produced a documentary film--"SAC [Strategic Air Command] Command Post"--to demonstrate its responsiveness to presidential command and its tight control over nuclear weapons. ...much more at URL... Terry Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:18:59 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Ride in a U-2 Ride in a U-2: http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/ Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:50:18 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Re: Ride in a U-2 Re: Ride in a U-2 Date: Jan 19, 2010 7:39 AM On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 3:18 AM, Terry Colvin wrote: > Ride in a U-2: > > http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/ This is an excerpt from two BBC specials which were broadcast in conjunction with the anniversary of the first Moon landing: "James May on the Moon", and "James May at the Edge of Space". Basically, "Edge of Space" (which, IIRC, aired on BBC 4) is the last half hour or so of "on the Moon" (which aired on BBC 2 about an hour or so before "Edge of Space" aired on BBC 4). FWIW, I forwarded a different link to this (or a closely related) video clip a few months or so ago. :-) Not that I mind seeing it again. BBC America ran "James May on the Moon" here in the former colonies back in November of last year (along with a number of other "moon landing" themed specials), and anyone who's interested in seeing the whole thing but missed it (or doesn't have BBC America available) can grab it on video via BitTorrent. Cheers, LRC Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:25:32 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Fw: [tlc-brotherhood] U-2 and predator sensors for Haiti? - -----Forwarded Message----- From: Eugene Rossel Sent: Jan 26, 2010 2:17 AM To: TLC-BROTHERHOOD@nexus.net Subject: [tlc-brotherhood] U-2 and predator sensors for Haiti? Good story on hour modern technology for war can be used for peace time efforts. U- 2 Flights Likely Over Haiti; Predator May Go U- 2 Flights Likely Over Haiti; Predator May Go By Colin Clark - Posted in Air, Intelligence, International , Land, Naval, Policy The Pentagon will probably send the U- 2 to Haiti so its unique multi- spectral imagery capabilities can be put to use spotting breaks in water and gas lines, chemical spills and similar problems. B^SMy expectation is that we hope to get that deployed soon,B^T Col. Bradley Butz, vice commander of the Air ForceB^Rs 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Va., told reporters this morning. The U- 2 contains unique multi- spectral imagery equipment (the seven- band SYERS 2) that Global Hawk and Predator donB^Rt possess. Butz said the multi- spectral tools would provide useful information about breaks in water and gas lines, as well as chemical spills. Butz also said they may deploy Predator to Haiti but the Air Force is still looking at just what it would add to the sensor mix. Meanwhile, a Global Hawk has already flown over Haiti, for 14 hours yesterday and it should do 16 hours today, Butz said. It has looked at 1,000-plus targtets. B^SWe are looking at all infrastructure, ports, airfields,B^T he said. For example, Global Hawk is providing images to help pilots as they approach HaitiB^Rs airports. B^SThe clarity of the imagery is good enough to provide go/ no- go information for aircraft.B^T Troops from the 82nd Airborne and the Marines are already feeding imagery requests directly to the ISR agency. We are in direct communication with them,B^T Butz said. Part of that effort involves imagery from national technical means B spy satellites B and commercial satellite imagery provided by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). Butz said his people are sharing their images from air burning assets with NGA and NGA is sharing its images with them. Southern Command, in charge of the Haiti operations, is feeding unclassified versions of that data to the non- governmental organizations operating in Haiti via an unclassified web link. And NGA has an unclassified web link to provide some of its data. Butz said they are working hard to avoid duplication. When we asked Butz how his people were coping with the added burden of analyzing Haitian imagery while they are feeding troops in Afghanistan and Iraq with imagery and analyzing it, he conceded B^SitB^Rs very tough. We have to keep our airmen focused on Afghanistan and Iraq.B^T All this highlights an immense irony of the terrible destruction the earthquake wreaked in Haiti, namely that the Western HemisphereB^Rs poorest country is getting much of the worldB^Rs most sophisticated and expensive technology in its time of need. Global Hawk, the high- flying reconnaissance UAV which costs roughly $135 million apiece, left Beale Air Force Base on Jan. 13 for Haiti. A story on the baseB^Rs web site quoted Lt. Col. Mark Lozier, operations officer with the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron:B^T In effect, you get to look at what we know is damaged, and what we know is still serviceable. We can take a look at airfields to assess, right now, whether or not we will be able to get airlift in there with aid. We donB^Rt have to wait for a ground team to get in there and make on site decisions.B^T As the U.S military first really learned during the earliest stages of our Afghan war, persistent surveillance can be incredibly useful. B^SOne of the ideal aspects of the Global Hawk for this purpose is its high- altitude; we can stay airborne 27 to 28 hours,B^T Lozier said. B^SWe will be using most of that time to stay on station over in Haiti during most of daylight hours to image most of everything that we can with the highest fidelity.B^T We got an email from a geospatial data company, FortiusOne, telling us about how they are providing mapping and other geospatial planning tools to non- governmental groups. You can take a look here at some of the nifty products they and other companies are making available to help get help where it is needed most. Ruth Stiver, who handles PR for them, said this: B^SWe are actively working with other communities such as OpenStreetMap and CrisisCommons, which are gathering additional data and maps that can be used to share with responders and agencies working to organize and provide relief efforts. To check out our latest collaborative efforts to help visit: http://news.geocommons.com/haitiquake/ Feel free to contribute your own data as well at Geocommons and make sure to tag your data B^ShaitiquakeB^T. If you know of additional relief organizations, please add them to the registry http://haiti-orgs.sahanafoundation.org/orgs/ Obviously, the USS Carl Vinson and the Marine units heading to Haiti involve incredibly advanced technology as well. IB^Rm sure our readers know of other examples. Please let us know and weB^Rll update this story or add new ones. I covered the terrible famines of 1984B^V85 in Ethiopia and Sudan, as well as the accompanying epidemics that rolled through the region on the heels of famine and civil war. The best technology available then was C- 130s and similar military airlifters, military radios, printed maps containing weather and related data from satellites, and kerosene- powered refrigerators deployed in geographic chains to keep vaccines fresh. LetB^Rs hope todayB^Rs more advanced tools will help save lives and, perhaps, help Haiti to plan better for future disasters. SOURCE: http://www.dodbuzz.com/2010/01/14/military-tech-heads-to-haiti/ Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 13:35:19 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Colvin Subject: skunk-works Skunkworks - Legacy of the Secret Heroes http://area51specialprojects.com/sp_photos.html Photos and Video declassified legacy of the Secret Heroes Date: Mar 3, 2010 3:27 PM Thanks to Col Knox.... Photos and Video declassified legacy of the Secret Heroes of the Area 51 Black Projects in Nevada This information is provided by PURE PURSUIT INFORMATION CENTER, as a service to members of the Military and Air Defense Community with the purpose of offering relevant and timely information on (open source) defense, aviation, emergency, law enforcement and terrorism issues. Posts may be forwarded to other individuals, organizations and lists for non-commercial purposes. To subscribe to the list, please direct an email to Nena Wiley at CoyoteArz@aol.com . Terry W. Colvin Ladphrao (Bangkok), Thailand Pran Buri (Hua Hin), Thailand http://terrycolvin.freewebsites.com/ [Terry's Fortean & "Work" itty-bitty site] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:49:44 -0700 From: Joy Cohn Subject: skunk-works U2 Article in the NY Times Or March 21, 2010 U-2 Spy Plane Evades the Day of Retirement By CHRISTOPHER DREW The U-2 spy plane, the high-flying aircraft that was often at the heart of cold war suspense, is enjoying an encore. Four years ago, the Pentagon was ready to start retiring the plane, which took its first test flight in 1955. But Congress blocked that, saying the plane was still useful. And so it is. Because of updates in the use of its powerful sensors, it has become the most sought-after spy craft in a very different war in Afghanistan. As it shifts from hunting for nuclear missiles to detecting roadside bombs, it is outshining even the unmanned drones in gathering a rich array of intelligence used to fight the Taliban . All this is a remarkable change from the U-29s early days as a player in United States-Soviet espionage. Built to find Soviet missiles, it became famous when Francis Gary Powers was shot down in one while streaking across the Soviet Union in 1960, and again when another U-2 took the photographs that set off the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Newer versions of the plane have gathered intelligence in every war since then and still monitor countries like North Korea. Now the U-2 and its pilots, once isolated in their spacesuits at 70,000 feet, are in direct radio contact with the troops in Afghanistan. And instead of following a rote path, they are now shifted frequently in midflight to scout roads for convoys and aid soldiers in firefights. In some ways, the U-2, which flew its first mission in 1956, is like an updated version of an Etch A Sketch in an era of high-tech computer games. 3It9s like after all the years it9s flown, the U-2 is in its prime again,2 said Lt. Col. Jason M. Brown, who commands an intelligence squadron that plans the missions and analyzes much of the data. 3It can do things that nothing else can do.2 One of those things, improbably enough, is that even from 13 miles up its sensors can detect small disturbances in the dirt, providing a new way to find makeshift mines that kill many soldiers. (Article Continues at NYT) ------------------------------ End of skunk-works-digest V16 #7 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest 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 skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest 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