1 - The Black Vault

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PROJECT HONEY BADGER AND CREDIBLE SPORT USAF Photo Two sets of Shrike rockets were mounted on an external pylon to stabilize the aircraft during takeoff. aircraft on the aircraft carrier, a modified tailhook was installed forward of the ramp hinge on the underbelly of the aircraft. To eliminate the nose landing gear/FLIR problem found on the MC- 130E engineers mounted a DC-130 radome on the front of the aircraft and installed a FLIR turret forward of the nose-wheel assembly. The FLIR’s laser-range system was integrated into the onboard computer and provided inputs to fire the forwardfacing ASROC engines when the aircraft was 20 feet above the ground during the landing phase. To provide in-flight refueling capability, an externally mounted refueling system was installed on the top of the fuselage, similar to the system found on the C-141B aircraft. A Texas Instruments TF/TA radar was installed to enable the aircraft to fly low level, and a Canadian Marconi Doppler, along with a Global Positioning System (GPS), was tied into the aircraft’s dual inertial navigation system to improve overall system accuracy. To protect the aircraft from electronic threats, a basic ECM suite was installed on the aircraft. 24 Aircraft 74-2065 was partially modified and was ready to begin flight-tests three weeks after the program began. The three Credible Sport aircraft were transferred to Lockheed as governmentfurnished equipment for the project, and on 18 September a Lockheed flight-test crew flew the first flight on the test-bed aircraft. Two days later the aircraft began a series of trials that tested the forward-mounted ASROC rockets in incremental tests that lasted for the next three weeks. The flight-tests determined that the aircraft had to be physically on the ground prior to firing the lower set of rockets, but the upper set could be fired USAF Photo Two ASROC rockets were mounted near the aft beavertail and prevented over rotation during takeoff. Photo courtesy of John R. Lewis Horsal and dorsal fins were installed on Credible Sport to improve stability during low-speed flight. 243
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP USAF Photo Double-slotted flap configuration used on Credible Sport. Modified tailhook installed on Credible Sport. USAF Photo while the aircraft was still in the air. While the initial flight-test was being conducted by the Lockheed crew, the three USAF flight crews cy - cled through a specially designed engineering simulator located at Lockheed-Marietta that exposed them to the critical landing phase of the operation. The aircrews flew more than 400 hours in the simulator-like device, gaining valuable experience in the operation of the advanced FLIR, the updated avionics system, and the onboard computer that controlled the rocket-firing sequence. The training device was primarily an engineering tool and did not have motion simula - tion, as would normally have been the case for a flight simulator. It was used to replicate the landing phase of flight from one-half mile out on final to touchdown. The first fully modified XFC-130H Super STOL Credible Sport aircraft (74-1683) was delivered on 17 October. During its first flight, it experienced aileron flutter problems attributed to the increased size of the ailerons. Within two days a fix was made to the system, and the aircraft was flown to TAB 1, a disused airfield located in the Eglin AFB range complex in the Florida Panhandle. 25 From the time aircraft 74-1683 arrived at TAB 1, it was subjected to rigorous flight-testing of the experimental systems on board the aircraft. The first test profile included firing only two of the Mark 56 booster rockets. Subsequent test flights evaluated the wing-mounted yawcorrecting Shrike rockets. During the 10 days between 19 and 29 October, multiple sorties were flown by the Lockheed test crew and by the Combat Talon crews dedicated to the program. The crews found that the new flap system, along with the horsal and dorsal fins, allowed the aircraft to be flown at an airspeed of 85 KIAS on final, with an eight-degree glide slope. Everything worked flawlessly during the initial tests, and on 29 October a complete test profile, which included firing all rockets for both the takeoff and landing phases, was scheduled to be conducted by the Lockheed flight-test crew. Before the flight, test engineers determined that the aircraft’s onboard computer needed additional calibration to fully integrate the landing rocketfiring sequence during the landing phase. The Lockheed flight crew elected to fly the mission using manual inputs to fire the ASROC rocket motors, relying on the experience gained from the engineering simulator and from their previous flights. During the 29 October test, aircraft 74- 1683 set several STOL records. The nose gear lifted six feet off the ground after 10 feet of takeoff roll with all eight Mark 56s employed, and the aircraft was airborne within 150 feet of brake release. Within the length of a soccer field, it had reached an altitude of 30 feet and an airspeed of 115 knots. 26 Everything continued to go as planned after takeoff, and the aircraft turned on to final for its rocket-assisted short-field landing. When the upper deceleration rockets fired at approximately 12-feet altitude, the aircraft slowed rapidly. The flight engineer, blinded by the forward rocket blast in front of the cockpit, thought the aircraft was on the runway and manually fired the remaining lower rockets. The resultant drop in altitude caused the right wing to break off on impact with the runway, and a fire ignited as the wing trailed behind the aircraft during rollout. Within eight seconds of the aircraft coming to a stop, emergency crews had the fire extinguished, and the flight crew successfully exited the wreckage. No one was injured in the crash, but aircraft 74-1683 was destroyed. Most of the 244
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i\1 -■-'^^.■■--y^lEil^peD
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The Praetorian STARShip The Untold
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This book is dedicated to all Speci
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Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER .
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Figure Page 13 Template Shift Due t
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Page Col Don Britton, First Command
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Page Aircraft 74-1683 Crashes onto
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Foreword As a young lieutenant flyi
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About the Author USAF Photo Col Jer
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The third factor driving approval o
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A Word from the Commander We in Air
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was changed forever. The US Army Wa
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Introduction Welcome to the world o
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system, the following three chapter
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move was partially driven by the Ai
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Chapter 1 Establishment of Combat T
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON coloc
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON Two d
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON immed
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON Life
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON condu
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON Precu
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON were
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ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON SOG h
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Chapter 2 The Combat Talon Weapons
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although the early Fulton modificat
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM tri
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM Lt
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM as
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM mis
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM F^C
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM The
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM ./
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■ ■-:'■-:;■ ■■..kFTn \
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equipment malfunctioned, the more t
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM top
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM it
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM TEP
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM CRu
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Yank aircraft operating in the Paci
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM Fig
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM ly
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TYPICAl TANKER ORBIT PATTERN THE CO
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THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM Not
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Once the Stray
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 1968: The Estab
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP ridgeline. John
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP that it was a t
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP terrain followi
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP to intercept th
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP assigned to the
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP making multiple
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Chapter 4 Combat Spear (The Vietnam
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COMBAT SPEAR quarters and were prov
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COMBAT SPEAR f -fpadc khi ai b6 phr
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COMBAT SPEAR The study cited the fo
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COMBAT SPEAR rn nilMirif Piti.r,,!
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COMBAT SPEAR proper crew rest could
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COMBAT SPEAR proper people. Moreove
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COMBAT SPEAR we never intended to e
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COMBAT SPEAR Christmas spirit and j
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COMBAT SPEAR ■ IBDCITI |«'4llH^
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COMBAT SPEAR with good radar target
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COMBAT SPEAR two loadmasters, and t
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COMBAT SPEAR was given up. The crew
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COMBAT SPEAR killed, and 187 were w
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COMBAT SPEAR volunteers shortly aft
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COMBAT SPEAR were provided to SOG b
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COMBAT SPEAR early as January 1970.
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COMBAT SPEAR r esources resulted. A
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COMBAT SPEAR live surface-to-air pi
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served as the squadron’s administ
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COMBAT SPEAR Korean government. 139
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COMBAT SPEAR marked the beginning o
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COMBAT SPEAR 76. History, 14th Spec
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Sembach AB to R
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Combat Talon de
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP June also saw t
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP prisoners of wa
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP and presenting
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 1973: Combat Ta
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP experienced wit
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Chapter 6 The Son Tay Prisoner of W
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID On
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID cr
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID Tr
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID al
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID th
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID RT
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID se
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID ob
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THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID se
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Chapter 7 Between the Wars (1975-79
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BETWEEN THE WARS Tentatively, the p
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BETWEEN THE WARS be undertaken in M
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BETWEEN THE WARS was established as
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BETWEEN THE WARS From 28 March to 1
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BETWEEN THE WARS The 7575th OG exer
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BETWEEN THE WARS The last half of t
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BETWEEN THE WARS during 1978 the sq
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BETWEEN THE WARS Italy for the firs
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BETWEEN THE WARS SOW CCT member lin
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Chapter 8 The Iranian Rescue Missio
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THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION shah had
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THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION were oth
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The 1st SOW maintained the four gun
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THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION Crew 1 C
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THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION large ru
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THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION helicopt
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Page 256 and 257: THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION vertical
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Page 262 and 263: Chapter 9 Project Honey Badger and
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Page 280 and 281: Talon community. 8 The IFR modifica
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Page 286 and 287: exercise aircraft on the ground wer
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Page 292 and 293: to MAC’s newly formed Twenty-Thir
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Page 298 and 299: plan, Colonel Hudspeth arrived in t
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Page 304 and 305: for five Combat Talons, Hobson and
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP the total force
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP interest the co
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP operations exer
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP forces in being
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 1986: The Goldw
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP With rumors swi
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Photo courtesy
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP all on-aircraft
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Dur ing the fol
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP the ORI overwhe
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP H ■ BB a FT-
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 28. History, 2d
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP ranks to become
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP continued to ve
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP process. Events
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP launch. By 1730
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP USAF Photo Crew
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP spacing between
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP vegetation grow
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Task Force Blac
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP JTF-South force
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 21. Ibid. 22. I
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Cope Thunder Wi
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP the first night
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Within days of
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP SOW forces lean
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP was “not bad.
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP --7^*—1^, ■
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP ready for testi
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP start of the ai
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Orrell had depl
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 16 January the
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Saudi Arabia. H
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PRAETORIAN STARSHIP experts destroy
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Chapter 14 Mount Pinatubo to Operat
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MOUNT PINATUBO TO OPERATION JOINT E
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major eruption occurred. Seismograp
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headquarters. For AFSOC McPeak’s
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culmination of years of hard work b
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flew a SOCEUR assessment team into
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Early in the spring of 1993, all th
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Chapter 15 Operation Assured Respon
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OPERATION ASSURED RESPONSE TO THE N
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fuel available at the new location
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Epilogue 2000 and Beyond: A Combat
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surface will be covered by layers o
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Live Fulton STARS Made by Combat Ta
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Person Date Location Recovery Pilot
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Partial Summary of Upgrades, MOD-90
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—X Band Receiver/Transmitter: On
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Glossary AAA AAF ABCCC ABW ACS AD A
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CTJTF CTMR CTW CV DCS DCSO DIA DMZ
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MATS MC MCAS MCM MEU MFF MFP MIA MO
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SKE SLOG SMM SOAR SOCCENT SOCCT SOC
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Index Aircraft B-17: 2-4, 15, 17, 2
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Far East Command (FECOM): 5-8 Fulto
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