TR-3 "Black Manta"

We haven't known a lot of details for SENIOR PROM for very long, so he may not have been aware how many flight articles there were way back when that was written, nor when the program was actually active.

That being said it is entirely possible this is referring to a wholly different object.
 
Back in 1993 Galoob Micro Machines produced a gift pack with an SR71, Aurora andTR3 in plastic, about an inch or so long.
 

Attachments

  • e7eda175-fba3-441e-8a38-b7edbbce6a63_1.6b57bb127cc07e922b3b53e3317d2431.jpeg
    e7eda175-fba3-441e-8a38-b7edbbce6a63_1.6b57bb127cc07e922b3b53e3317d2431.jpeg
    487.3 KB · Views: 304
  • 196534-12603084Fr.jpg
    196534-12603084Fr.jpg
    19.8 KB · Views: 170
  • s-l400 (17).jpg
    s-l400 (17).jpg
    6.8 KB · Views: 135
  • IMG_20201113_175642.jpg
    IMG_20201113_175642.jpg
    18 KB · Views: 115
  • IMG_20201113_175616.jpg
    IMG_20201113_175616.jpg
    11.7 KB · Views: 137
  • 196534-12603083Bk.jpg
    196534-12603083Bk.jpg
    24.5 KB · Views: 166
  • 196534-12603083Fr.jpg
    196534-12603083Fr.jpg
    19.6 KB · Views: 313
I was a huge fan of Micro Machines but never got this set sadly, They did pretty good at modelling a range of aircraft (always gutted that the outers wings on the Tu-22M didn't move like the Tomcat's did) and presumably these were based on artists impressions of the times.
 
TR-3A Evolved From Classified Prototypes, Based on Tactical Penetrator Concept

he U. S. Air Force’s stealthy near—realtime reconnaissance aircraft, the TR-3A, evolved from a number of 1970s-era classified programs aimed at developing both a deep-interdiction strike fighter and a companion vehicle to gather target location data.

Sponsored by the Defense Dept, Central Intelligence and Defense Intelligence agencies, the Air Force and possibly the U. S. Navy, several of these “black world” study contracts were awarded in,1976. For example, the Air to Surface Technology Evaluation and Integration (ASTEI) program was created to develop concepts for an advanced deep-interdiction fighter. Three contractors—~Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Grumman— were awarded $600,000 study contracts and charged with developing mission-oriented concepts that included low radar cross-section (RCS) airframes. The same year, the government’s “Blue Team” was formed to identify operational applications for stealth technologies produced by ASTEI, Have Blue and other classified efforts. At least 10 separate “black” aircraft programs based on stealth techniques were recommended to the services and intelligence agencies between 1976 and 1983. These included fighter, attack and bomber aircrafi, as well as cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Two key proponents of stealth aircraft at that time were Lt. Gen. Robert Bond (who was killed in an aircraft crash in 1984) and Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford (USAF, Ret.), a former astronaut and onetime commander of the Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. Blue Team efforts eventually prompted the Air Force to initiate the Covert Survivable Inweather Reconnaissance/Strike (CSIRS) program, which was to yield two separate stealth aircraft designs. One was to be a tactical strike fighter; the other would be dedicated to a tactical reconnaissance role. The program was jointly managed by the Flight Dynamics and Avionics laboratories at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

In mid-1976, Lockheed was awarded a contract to build two stealth fighter prototypes under the Defense Advanced Projects Agency’s Have Blue program, edging out Northrop’s design (AW&ST Apr. 22, p. 30). The Air Force also initiated wind tunnel and RCS model tests of a Tactical High Altitude Penetrator (THAP) spanloader concept based on proposals submitted by Northrop under the ASTEI and CSIRS programs.

Northrop received a fixed-price research and development and demonstration/validation contract from the Air Force in late 1978 to build a stealthy high-altitude tactical reconnaissance aircraft. A THAP demonstrator made its first flight from the secluded Groom Lake, Nev., facility in 1981.

The company reportedly received a follow- on Air Force contract in 1982 to build what was to become the TR—3A, based on the THAP concept.

Triangular Recon Aircraft May Be Supporting F-117A

The U. S. Air Force is believed to be operating several highly classified triangular-shaped stealth aircraft with its Lockheed F-117A fighters, to provide real-time reconnaissance imagery. The single-pilot aircraft also could eventually support B-2 bomber missions in a similar manner, possibly augmenting other systems in locating and attacking mobile strategic missiles.

About 25-30 of the special reconnaissance aircraft—designated the TR-3A “Black Manta”—c0uld be placed in service eventually, based at Holloman AFB, N. M., and Tonapah, Nev. Initial TR-3As are collocated with F—117As, although housed separately in larger hangars. Several TR—3As are believed to have been deployed temporarily to Alaska, Britain, Panama and Okinawa. More recently, they are believed to have supported F-117A operations in the Persian Gulf war.

The aircraft is designed to collect and transmit near-real-time digital photo data for immediate tactical applications. With a range of more than 3,000 naut. mi. and the ability to operate at both low and high altitudes, the TR-3A is a stealthy, versatile reconnaissance platform capable of both tactical and strategic duties.

By employing sophisticated digital transmission techniques, the TR-3A can relay time—critical data through airborne Lockheed TR-l aircraft or military satellites such as the Defense Support Program spacecraft. Consequently, electrooptical data reach end-users in minutes rather than the hours required today with systems that rely on photographic film.

The need for more timely reconnaissance data has prompted developments of new real-time systems for the RF-16 such as the Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System, or ATARS (AW&ST Apr. 22, p. 78).

During Desert Storm, TR-3A data might have been limited to F-117A support only, possibly for intelligence security reasons. Allied Central Command
officers acknowledged that obtaining adequate reconnaissance information was a definite weak link in the air campaign. At one point, Saudi Arabian air force Northrop RF—Ss were requested to augment USAF RF-4C operations. This implied that TR-3A data were not distributed widely for use by other than
F-117A forces.

TR=3A, based on the Northrop THAP, is believed to be a stealthy. triangular vehicle about 42 ft. long and 14 ft. high with a 60-65-ft. wingspan. The reconnaissance aircraft reportedly has a range of more than 3,000 naut. mi.

Wind tunnel tests were conducted on this model of a Tactical High- Altitude Penetrator (THAP) in 1976. The concept evolved into the U.S. Air Force TIl-3A stealth reconnaissance aircraft that is believed to operate with Lockheed F-117A lighters. Some industry experts believe the Air Force intends to use TR-3As with the B-2, possibly to bolster the bomber’s effectiveness against relocatable targets such as strategic missiles. Critics of the B-2 have repeatedly seized upon this apparent deficiency as partial justification for canceling the next-generation strategic bomber program or severely limiting its production run.

For years it has been suspected that a closely held aircraft such as a TR-3A existed, although its designation and mission were unclear. The classified
reconnaissance aircraft has been observed flying at night with multiple F—117As near Edwards AFB, Calif, since 1989. A triangular vehicle operating during daylight hours near Tehachapi, Calif—about 30 naut. mi. from Edwards—in May, 1990, also closely matched descriptions of the TR—3A. Initially, the delta-shaped aircraft was thought to be a Navy A-12 prototype or proof-of—concept vehicle (AW&ST Oct. 1, 1990, p. 20).

The TR-3A is based on a Northrop concept for a tactical reconnaissance vehicle developed under a multipurpose Air Force stealth technology program in the mid-1970s called Covert Survivable Inweather Reconnaissance/Strike, or CSIRS (see story p. 20). Northrop’s stealthy Tactical High-Altitude Penetrator (THAP) design began radar cross-section and wind tunnel tests in 1976, and photographs of a THAP model were released publicly.

At the time, “stealth” technology was not considered “black” or ultra-classified. A THAP prototype first flew in mid-1981, about the same time that Lockheed started flying its No. l full-scale development F-117A. The manta-ray-shaped demonstrator was approximately the size of a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18, employing rounded, blended surfaces and radar-absorbing material.
'
RUDDERATRONS’ FOR ROLL/YAW

Engine inlets and exhausts were on the prototypes’ top surface, similar to the configuration seen later when an artist’s rendition of the B-2 bomber was released. Dual non-afterbuming turbofan powerplants were buried in the fuselage and fitted with exhaust flow mixers to reduce the aircraft’s infrared signature. Rounded twin vertical tails—called “rudderatrons” - were canted inward, providing both roll and yaw control. Trailing-edge elevon surfaces outboard of the tails provided pitch and roll control.

The THAP design relied heavily on radar-absorbing materials (RAM)—as well as blended, curved surfaces—to reduce its radar cross-section. Leading and trailing edges were covered with a foam core wrapped in a black plastic RAM film. Use of RAM instead of faceted surfaces (similar to the F—117A design) resulted in a heavier aircraft than the fighter, but was acceptable for a long-range reconnaissance platform.

The single-pilot THAP concept aircraft was a spanloader design about 38 ft. long. It had a 56-ft. wingspan, stood approximately 14 ft. high and was rated for a maximum take-off weight of 55,000- 60,000 lb. The TR-3A is believed to have a slightly larger planform, possibly up to 42 ft. long with a 60-65-ft. wingspan. It may be powered by modified twin General Electric F404 engines rated in the 12,000-lb.-thrust range, but has a much quieter noise footprint than the F-117A. This is attributed to exhaust nozzles placed well forward of the TR-3A’s wing trailing edge, shielding the from ground-based
acoustic and infrared detectors.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Air Force-sponsored studies yielded a number of stealth aircraft concepts having delta-winged, spanloader airframes and engines buried in the fuselage, particularly for long-range bombers (AW&ST June 16, 1980, p. 136; Jan. 29, 1979, p. 113). It is reasonable to expect that similar concepts developed in that period would have made sense for long-range, high-altitude reconnaissance vehicles.1 June 1991
AWST 10 June 1991
 
LM-ADP got F-117 and Northrop got Tacit Blue, AWST just didn't know what it was. I would not be surprised if a "TR-3A" type and shaped vehicle was built and flight tested, lots of activity regarding different LO programs back then, new things to try out. After ATF/F-22 selection (90's), programs started either rolling off, being cancelled or placed under very tight security, it got quiet for a while after I left NG in 1996.
 
From "Stealth Technology: The Art of Black Magic", J. Jones, 1989

Ch 7, "Manned Aircraft, Pure Stealth Design" :
NORTHROP TACTICAL STEALTH AIRCRAFT

Northrop is reported to have signed contracts with the U.S. Air Force in 1982
to build up to 100 tactical stealth aircraft (TSA). The TSA, about which little is known,
is said to have been the type that crashed north of Bakersfield in July 1986. At least
20 American black programs are now in progress, so it is difficult to say which stealth
aircraft might have been involved in that crash. Most industry personnel believe it
was a Lockheed F-19, but others say it was the TSA, which is similar to a design
Lockheed proposed to the Air Force in the late 1970s, that crashed.
If it wasn't an F-19 or TSA, the crashed stealth aircraft could have been one of
three subscale proof-of-concept flying wing demonstrators that were used early in
the B-2 program. These subscale aircraft are still being flown from secret airstrips in
the Nellis Range in Nevada.

Ch 9, "Unmanned Stealth Aircraft"
TACTICAL HIGH-ALTITUDE PENETRATOR

The Tactical High-Altitude Penetrator (THAP) looks like the Benson/AMR/Ryan
RPV-007 design. FIGURE 9-1 shows a drawing based on the THAP concept. The
concept resulted from a study for a tactical high-altitude penetrator design, which
is a UAV that can carry a weapons payload in an internal weapons bay.
The aircraft's thrust would have been provided by two high-technology turbofan
engines mounted on the top of the airframe. The engines would have some
components made of RAM. The airframe shape was the span-loaded flying-wing type
and would rest on a tricycle landing gear. Pitch, yaw, and roll control would have
been provided by two vertical fins canted inward, and called rudderatorons. The
materials making up the airframe were to include RAM plastics surrounding a foam
core.
THAP is now believed to have been related to Northrop's B-2's proof-of-concept
vehicles, and also to the Tactical Stealth Aircraft (TSA) program. THAP is thought
to have been built by Northrop, and test-flown from Groom Lake flight test facility
on the Nellis Air Force range since 1983.

I am not saying that any of the above is accurate, in fact we now know almost all of it is incorrect.

1. The Northrop aircraft that was flying in 1982 - and reported in Aviation Week at the time - was TACIT BLUE.
2. The aircraft that crashed near Bakersfield in 1986 was F-117 792.
3. There were no sub scale B-2 demonstrators
4. THAP was not a UAV, and even in the USAF drawing that was the basis for the drawing of THAP in the book it was shown as manned and carrying a weapon.
5. So far there has been no connection found between THAP and Northrop.

This does appear to be where the legend of the "TR-3" began though. The author of "The Art of Black Magic" was a co-author on the Aviation Week "TR-3" article in 1991.
 
If it did exist , be in service today and probably orbiting around the Baltic states
cheers
 
Whatever happened to 'J. Jones'?

Chris
A user here signed up with a "joseph jones" email and posted a similar mix of real stuff and wild speculation, but whether it was the real guy or a fan, I don't know. He was apparently from North Carolina.
 
Last edited:
Hi All,

As per my recent tweet, the NRO (U.S. National Reconnaissance Office) has replied to my FOIA request re: QUARTZ, AARS, TEAL CAMEO & TEAL RAIN. While saying they had nothing on the latter 3, they said they could neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of records relating to QUARTZ.

I presume that hence means they DO have something on it but won't say.

Under 5 U.S.C. SS 552, I believe I do NOT have the right to ask for a Mandatory Declassification Review, so I am not sure if it is possible to proceed in any useful way. Advice would be appreciated if others do know.

Thanks

View attachment 684436

TEAL CAMEO was the DARPA endurance UAV program of the 1980s. There were different efforts within it and the services participated in it.
TEAL RAIN was a DARPA endurance UAV program that seems to have focused on propulsion for endurance UAVs (solar, turbine, etc.)

QUARTZ was a name the intelligence agencies used for the Lockheed large, stealthy endurance UAV from the early 1980s until the late 80s or early 90s.

In the early 1990s (~1991-1993) that program had broader Air Force participation and was funded as the Advanced Airborne Reconnaissance System, under the DoD Airborne Reconnaissance Support Program. It probably was also being funded through the intelligence community budget.
In FY1993 it was cancelled. The Tier 3 program was started with the same requirements, that went nowhere because of costs, then we got the Tier 3- program.

If you are interested in TEAL CAMEO and TEAL RAIN you will have to request documents from DARPA. They are likely to tell you they don't have anything and to check the national archives - the national archives have collections of DARPA documents from that period that probably contain the TEAL CAMEO and TEAL RAIN documents.

To swing back on topic, this is highlights one of the issues I have with one theory about the "TR-3" name. The Aviation Week article on the "TR-3" was published in 1991. There is a theory that "TR-3" was actually someone mis-hearing "Tier 3". As far as I have been able to tell the "Tier" programs and nomenclature were not in use until at least a year later than the AvWeek article. I suspect the "TR-3" designation was not someone hearing "Tier 3" and interpreting it as "TR-3". It seems more likely that "TR-3" was just... made up.
 
This is what happens when you have someone talking to another person. You can't tell if Stephen is Steven or Steve or if Tier III is Tier 3 or TR-3. Bue yeah.
 
?? No clue if this is meant to represent TR-3 .The image looks interesting , but Google only lists two fairly dubious sites as source which are no-no:
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot 2023-05-14 at 14-06-13 Google Lens.png
    Screenshot 2023-05-14 at 14-06-13 Google Lens.png
    41.5 KB · Views: 161
  • Interceptor.jpg
    Interceptor.jpg
    36.7 KB · Views: 162
?? No clue if this is meant to represent TR-3 .The image looks interesting , but Google only lists two fairly dubious sites as source which are no-no:

I believe that is an artist's impression based on an aircraft that Steve Douglass saw and videotaped at Roving Sands in 1993. Steve thought it may be the TR-3 at the time. IIRC, Steve's description of the shape was similar to the Northrop ATA.

Wired did an article that covered it a little in 1994:
 
TR-3A.PNG
TR-3.PNG
 
Last edited:
So let's take another look at the original TR-3 article aided with the knowledge gained in the past 30+ years:

TR-3A Evolved From Classified Prototypes, Based on Tactical Penetrator Concept

The U. S. Air Force’s stealthy near—realtime reconnaissance aircraft, the TR-3A, evolved from a number of 1970s-era classified programs aimed at developing both a deep-interdiction strike fighter and a companion vehicle to gather target location data.

Sponsored by the Defense Dept, Central Intelligence and Defense Intelligence agencies, the Air Force and possibly the U. S. Navy, several of these “black world” study contracts were awarded in,1976. For example, the Air to Surface Technology Evaluation and Integration (ASTEI) program was created to develop concepts for an advanced deep-interdiction fighter. Three contractors—~Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Grumman— were awarded $600,000 study contracts and charged with developing mission-oriented concepts that included low radar cross-section (RCS) airframes.

"ASTEI" (more commonly abbreviated ATS) was one of the many ATF programs. During this period what became the ATF was to be an attack aircraft. These design studies focused on new technologies and concepts that could be applied to an attack aircraft. RCS reduction was one of those concepts. Many of the concepts explored in these studies did make it into the later ATF program and have been well documented in ATF design evoluation histories. The only one that resembled the "TR-3" at all was the General Dynamics "Sneaky Pete".

The same year, the government’s “Blue Team” was formed to identify operational applications for stealth technologies produced by ASTEI, Have Blue and other classified efforts. At least 10 separate “black” aircraft programs based on stealth techniques were recommended to the services and intelligence agencies between 1976 and 1983. These included fighter, attack and bomber aircrafi, as well as cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

This seems to be a reference to SENIOR HIGH, an office within USAF that was managing the growing portfolio of stealth programs at the time.

Two key proponents of stealth aircraft at that time were Lt. Gen. Robert Bond (who was killed in an aircraft crash in 1984) and Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford (USAF, Ret.), a former astronaut and onetime commander of the Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. Blue Team efforts eventually prompted the Air Force to initiate the Covert Survivable Inweather Reconnaissance/Strike (CSIRS) program, which was to yield two separate stealth aircraft designs. One was to be a tactical strike fighter; the other would be dedicated to a tactical reconnaissance role. The program was jointly managed by the Flight Dynamics and Avionics laboratories at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

In the 1980s press articles on the "F-19" frequently cited "CSIRS" as the origin of the Stealth Fighter program.
The "Covert Survivable In-Weather Reconnaissance/Strike" program was not an aircraft program. It was a bistatic radar program. It was also never abbreviated as "CSIR" that I have been able to find, instead it was abbreviated as "COVIN REST" See: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...-in-weather-reconnaisance-strike-csirs.20795/

In mid-1976, Lockheed was awarded a contract to build two stealth fighter prototypes under the Defense Advanced Projects Agency’s Have Blue program, edging out Northrop’s design (AW&ST Apr. 22, p. 30). The Air Force also initiated wind tunnel and RCS model tests of a Tactical High Altitude Penetrator (THAP) spanloader concept based on proposals submitted by Northrop under the ASTEI and CSIRS programs.

The THAP studies by the Air Force actually started much earlier - 1974-1975, if not earlier. The work was unclassified and Northrop had no involvement.

See here: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...gh-altitude-penetrator-thap.7040/#post-550320

As THAP evolved over time it became a surgical strike aircraft like the F-117, with 1 LGB and a pilot. In an effort to reduce RCS the canopy was eliminated (!). The only classified THAP study I have found so far was a survivability analysis. Part of the concept was to deploy ECM on balloons (!) from THAP to aid infiltration. The real THAP concept was crazier than the "TR-3"!

THAP has design elements that appear very much like those of the Teledyne Ryan Low RCS Vehicle of 1971 but would not have an RCS in the same category as the F-117 or B-2 (it would have been much higher). It is worth noting that the THAP shape would be less than ideal for a reconnaissance aircraft.

A USAF THAP concept illustration was published by Sweetman in the early 1980s in (Interavia?). The article contains an altered version of that illustration, as does "Stealth and The Art of Black Magic". The author of that book was a co-author on the Aviation Week "TR-3" article.

Northrop received a fixed-price research and development and demonstration/validation contract from the Air Force in late 1978 to build a stealthy high-altitude tactical reconnaissance aircraft. A THAP demonstrator made its first flight from the secluded Groom Lake, Nev., facility in 1981.

The Northrop aircraft was TACIT BLUE, which actually had its first flight in 1982. At the time this article was written there were rumors of a stealth aircraft called "Shamu". Nobody knew much about it. Around 1994 the "Shamu" rumor indicated it was very strange looking and was some kind of ELINT or EW aircraft.
Aviation Week had reported years earlier that Northrop had gotten a stealth "fighter" contract with a first flight in 1981, this article appears to be repeating that, and connecting it to THAP.
THAP, again, was not actually connected to Northrop.
 
So, while William B. Scott wrote the article, it's based on just Joseph Jones speculation like his book.
 
Last edited:
There have been reports of a triangular-shaped aircraft in 1993-1994, in the AV, not F-117 or B-2, always minimal to no moonlight, very early morning, very quiet engine noise.
 
Here are two links that should give you the full scoop that they do exist(the second link must be typed on google):


LEGACYclassifiedaircraft.pdf
 
Here are two links that should give you the full scoop that they do exist(the second link must be typed on google):


LEGACYclassifiedaircraft.pdf
This type of lift is only good for a few grams of thrust- they don't work at scale.
 
Here are two links that should give you the full scoop that they do exist(the second link must be typed on google):


LEGACYclassifiedaircraft.pdf

So a patent registered by a private individual and the lunatic drawings of a known fantasist?

Not convinced...
 
Between the incorrect phonetics and misspellings, this looks like one of those "make your own challenge coin" things.

India Delta Kilo = IDK = I Don't Know
The design on the challenge coin was copied - inaccurately - from a real Lockheed Manta UAV project emblem (the same emblem seen on the side of the actual "X-44A" airplane when it was put on public display at the Los Angeles County Air Show in 2018). I remember seeing a Lockheed Martin employee wearing the Manta patch at the Edwards AFB airshow around 2003 or thereabouts.

There is a whole slew of bogus coins that came out after Trevor Paglen released his book on "black project" patches. You can recognize the fakes because the have the words "Black Ops" on the reverse side. Entrepreneurs also produced a lot of reproduction patches around the same time. Some of them were quite accurate and others not so much.
 
... and if I go into know-it-all mode, I had better make no mistakes :(
- potius : rather / better - 'Better (is) better than good enough'
- potus : drunk / inebriated (which still makes no sense at all in the coin motto) 'Drunk (is) better than good enough'
- pottus : pot
 
Last edited:
 

Attachments

  • tr3a.jpg
    tr3a.jpg
    807.7 KB · Views: 123
"Sandboxx" has an article on the TR-3, "EXPLORING THE CLAIMS THAT AMERICA’S TR-3A UFO FOUGHT IN DESERT STORM". In the article the scan I made in 1996 of the document USAF provided to me showing THAP was used. "Sandboxx" attempted to credit the forum:

thap-attribution.png

... but did not get the URL correct, and did not make it a hyperlink. Curiously, elsewhere in the article another image was attributed to Popular Mechanics, with a valid hyperlink to the Popular Mechanics website.
 
"Sandboxx" has an article on the TR-3, "EXPLORING THE CLAIMS THAT AMERICA’S TR-3A UFO FOUGHT IN DESERT STORM". In the article the scan I made in 1996 of the document USAF provided to me showing THAP was used. "Sandboxx" attempted to credit the forum:

View attachment 710240

... but did not get the URL correct, and did not make it a hyperlink. Curiously, elsewhere in the article another image was attributed to Popular Mechanics, with a valid hyperlink to the Popular Mechanics website.
The most almost accurate thing is that the back is similar to the classified top secret aircraft that crashed at RAF Boscombe Down. Almost similar.
 
The most almost accurate thing is that the back is similar to the classified top secret aircraft that crashed at RAF Boscombe Down. Almost similar.

I looked into the "Boscombe Down incident" many times over many years. I was not able to verify or corroborate any of the purported details of that incident, such as the presence of any C-5 transport, etc. As I recall there was more evidence for the official story, which was that there was an incident landing a Tornado with a fouled towed decoy.
 
"Sandboxx" has an article on the TR-3, "EXPLORING THE CLAIMS THAT AMERICA’S TR-3A UFO FOUGHT IN DESERT STORM". In the article the scan I made in 1996 of the document USAF provided to me showing THAP was used. "Sandboxx" attempted to credit the forum:

View attachment 710240

... but did not get the URL correct, and did not make it a hyperlink. Curiously, elsewhere in the article another image was attributed to Popular Mechanics, with a valid hyperlink to the Popular Mechanics website.

magic question what happend to THAP in the end has (apart from on here lol) any records of the last 2 decades of its reference,

cheers
 
magic question what happend to THAP in the end has (apart from on here lol) any records of the last 2 decades of its reference,

cheers

So far THAP seems to have been just a series of studies by ASD that went nowhere.
 

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.

Back
Top Bottom