Holloman Air Force Base - Holloman airbase is located 16 km west of the city of Alamogordo. This is one of the most interesting objects owned by the US Air Force. The proximity of the White Sands training ground and the dry climate with many clear sunny days a year have made Holloman the site of a number of research and training programs.
This area was chosen by specialists who were involved in testing new models of aviation and missile technology for the same reasons that guided the testers of the first nuclear bomb. Large open areas of terrain with soils unsuitable for agricultural activities and a small population created favorable conditions for the creation of an air-missile range. This area fully met the requirements of the Artillery and Technical Supply Directorate and the US Army Engineering Directorate. There was a large, unoccupied flat area where starting positions and target fields could be placed. At the same time, the terrain provided free movement of people and vehicles. On the territory of the test site there were mountains where it was possible to place radars and visual observation posts. In general, the area was dry, but at the same time there was a river and lakes with sufficient water. Transport and passenger planes could land at nearby airfields, and the railroad passing through New Mexico made it possible to deliver heavy goods. At the same time, in the area of the landfill itself, there were no overhead lines and railways crossing it. Large military garrisons could be easily deployed in the surrounding settlements. At present, the Holloman airbase is located at the northern end of the test site, and at the southern end is a large US Army air defense test station. Both of these facilities are organizationally part of the White Sands Missile Range.
The airbase, founded in 1942, received its name in honor of Colonel George Holloman, one of the American pioneers in the development of guided missiles. Initially, the airbase and the nearby White Sands training ground were intended to train pilots and navigator-bombers of the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.
In December 1944, tests began on the first American cruise missile with a pulsating ramjet engine Republic-Ford JB-2, based on the German V-1 (Fi-103). The Americans received samples of the unexploded V-1 from Great Britain in July 1944. Due to the fact that the German "flying bomb" had a very simple design, it did not take long to reproduce it. In general, the Republic-Ford JB-2 projectile was identical to the Fi-103 and differed only in small details. But later, American engineers tried to install a radar homing head on the V-1 analogue, thus creating the first anti-ship homing missile in the United States.
Republic-Ford JB-2 cruise missile prepared for testing
However, the refinement of the radar seeker for the anti-ship missile system dragged on and after the end of the test cycle, the cruise missile went into series with a primitive control system that did not differ from the German prototype. The Americans did not have time to use the JB-2 CD against Germany, by the time the mass production of missiles began, hostilities in Europe had already ended. Air and sea-based cruise missiles were planned to be used to strike targets in Japan, but due to the low accuracy of shooting, they eventually abandoned this. In total, 1391 JB-2s were built in the United States until September 15, 1945. They had no particular combat value, but later the missiles were used in various kinds of experiments and were targets for testing new types of aviation weapons and anti-aircraft missiles.
From April 1948 to January 1949, at Holloman, unmanned aerial vehicles with PPVRDs were involved in research on the creation of telemetry equipment, remote control and optical tracking of objects and homing systems. In order for the JB-2 to take off at the same speed and gain altitude along a gentle trajectory, a special ramp 120 meters long with an elevation angle of 3 ° was built in the vicinity of the airbase. To accompany the JB-2 in the air, the SCR-270 radar available at the airbase was used, capable of seeing targets at medium altitudes at a distance of up to 180 km.
In 1952, the Holloman Aviation Development Center began operating at the airbase, where research in the field of jet propulsion was carried out. In 1957, the center was renamed the Air Force Jet Development Center. Numerous cruise and ballistic missiles were launched from the airbase's launch pads at the target fields of the White Sands training ground. They tested here: SAM GAPA, KR Tiny Tim, GAM-63 RASCAL, MGM-1 Matador, SM-62 Snark, MGM-13 Mace, BR RTV-A-2 Hiroc and RTV-A-3 NATIV, heavy aviation NAR air combat AIR-2 Genie, AIM-4 Falcon air missile launchers, XSM-73 Goose air targets. The Aerobee series of suborbital research rockets were used to investigate the upper atmosphere. On the Aerobee 350, in preparation for space flights, starting in 1951, test launches of monkeys were carried out.
Preparing to launch a reconnaissance balloon in the vicinity of the Holloman airbase
As part of the Moby Dick spy project, which envisaged a reconnaissance of high-altitude balloons flying over the territory of the USSR, balloons of various sizes were tested at the Holloman airbase.
The Air Force Testing Center conducted various tests in preparation for upcoming manned space flights. So, during the implementation of the Manhigh project, which began in December 1955, the effect of cosmic rays on the human body was studied during ascent into the stratosphere in high-altitude balloons. The Excelsior project tested the possibility of rescuing the crew when leaving the spacecraft at high altitude. At the same time, a parachute system was developed, which was successfully tested from a height of 38969 meters.
A few kilometers north of the airbase, there is a special High Speed Test Track with a total length of more than 15 km. Its first section was built in 1949. This structure, which is a special narrow-gauge railway on a concrete base, with high-speed cameras and high-precision speed meters located along it, is intended for acceleration for experimental and test purposes on roller carriages of jet vehicles without lifting them into the air.
View of the High Speed Test Track
The track is serviced by the personnel of the 846th Test Squadron and provides its services to various government agencies: the Air Force, Navy, NASA, the Missile Defense Agency, as well as large American aerospace corporations and foreign companies of allied states. Currently, work is underway to build a new test track with a platform on the "electromagnetic cushion".
F-22A warhead tests
Even during the war years, tests of the unmanned radio-controlled bomber B-17 began at the airbase. It was assumed that an unmanned bomber, controlled from another aircraft, would enter a zone of strong anti-aircraft fire and, on command, get rid of bombs. However, it was not possible to achieve high bombing accuracy, and the radio control equipment worked unreliable. Later, after the start of the mass decommissioning of piston aircraft, some of the Flying Fortresses were converted into QB-17 radio-controlled targets. Piston bombers were followed by jet fighters converted into targets: QF-86E, QF-100D, QF-106A, QF-4E / G. All these converted aircraft were used at the test site in the process of testing and combat training of anti-aircraft and aircraft missiles.
The most successful of the early UAVs tested at Holloman AFB was the AQM-34 Firebee. The prototype of this multipurpose drone, known as the Q-2A Firebee, was developed back in 1948 as a radio-controlled target. In the future, as the avionics and propulsion system improved, the device received more and more new capabilities, including supersonic speed. On the basis of the air target, reconnaissance and strike drones were built, which were widely used in Vietnam and the Middle East.
Test run AQM-34
The AQM-34Q model was equipped with electronic reconnaissance equipment, which on February 13, 1966 over North Vietnam was unsuccessfully fired at by the SA-75 missile defense system. As a result, it was possible to obtain information about the operation of missile guidance systems, the characteristics of the radiation of a radio fuse and signals for remote detonation of a warhead. According to the American press, the data collected on the latest Soviet air defense systems at that time, in value, paid for the entire program of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. During the tests carried out in 1972, the BQM-34 successfully launched an air-to-surface missile with television guidance, which was the creation of the first strike UAV, which was subsequently adopted.
MQ-9 Reaper over White Sands Proving Ground
At the moment, the "unmanned traditions" at the Holloman airbase are continued by the MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper of the 9th Assault Squadron of the 49th Fighter Aviation Regiment. There is also a training center for training and practicing the combat use of UAV control operators. At various times, the following aircraft were based at the airbase in New Mexico: B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, P-47D Thunderbolt, B-29 Superfortresses, F-84F Thunderstreak, B-57 Canberra, F-100 Super Saber, T -38A Talon, F-4C / D / E / F Phantom II, F-15A / B Eagle, F-117A Nighthawk, F-22A Raptor, F-16C / D Fighting Falcon.
Officially, Holloman Air Base is now the home of the 54th Fighter Group. This training unit trains F-16C / D fighter pilots. More than a hundred cadets are trained here every year. In addition to the two-seat F-16Ds, the T-38A supersonic trainer trainer belonging to the 586th flight training squadron is used in the training process. Until 2014, the F-22A Raptor of the 44th Fighter Group (44 FG) was stationed at the airbase. From 1992 to 2008, three F-117A Nighthawk squadrons of the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing were based here.
For a long time, various modifications of the F-4 Phantom II multirole fighter were operated in New Mexico. At the moment, "Holloman" is one of two American airbases, where the Phantoms continue to fly on an ongoing basis. These are specially modernized remotely piloted vehicles QF-4, which also have the ability to manned flight. They are operated by the 82nd Target Unmanned Squadron (82 ATRS).
In the American Air Force, since the 1950s, it has been a common practice when obsolete but still flyable combat aircraft are converted into radio-controlled targets. In 1986, the Air Force Command signed a contract with Flight Systems Inc. to convert 194 stored F-106A Delta Dart interceptors into targets. Later, part of the work was carried out at the USAF aircraft repair plants in Davis-Montan.
Unmanned target QF-106A
Starting in 1991, the QF-106A was finally supplanted in the squadrons of the QF-100D and QF-102A unmanned targets. The last QF-106A from Holloman AFB was shot down over White Sands on February 20, 1997. Even before that, the process of converting the F-4 Phantom II fighters into targets began. But unlike the QF-106A, when converting Phantoms in the mid-90s, the military decided to give them greater capabilities. Relatively fresh machines of modifications have undergone re-equipment: F-4E, F-4G and RF-4C.
QF-4 Phantom II
The competition for the alteration of "Phantoms" in the target was won by the American branch of the British aviation missile corporation BAE Systems. At the same time, the cost of refurbishing one aircraft is approaching $ 1 million. However, compared to the QF-106A, the capabilities of the QF-4 have increased significantly. Phantoms, thanks to the new suspended equipment developed by BAE Systems North America, fly as targets for much longer. In addition, the least worn-out aircraft fly under the control of pilots, which makes it possible to ferry aircraft during exercises to other air bases. At the same time, honored veterans of the Cold War imitate enemy front-line bombers. In addition, if necessary, remotely controlled QF-4s are capable of carrying high-precision aircraft ammunition to destroy ground targets, which seriously expands the range of possible use of aircraft.
Satellite image of Google Earth: QF-4 and QF-16 belonging to 82 ATRS in the parking lot of Holloman airbase.
In total, more than 300 Phantoms have been converted into the target. Due to the fact that on the basis of storage in "Davis-Montan" the F-4s suitable for re-equipment have practically ended, at present they are converting into QF-16 targets the fighters of the early F-16A / B series, which were previously transferred for storage.
The Holloman airbase is still the site of testing and practicing the combat use of various types of aircraft weapons. Practically all conventional weapons used by the US Air Force were tested and tested here. To do this, there is a huge target complex at the White Sands training ground. Since the establishment of the airbase during the Second World War to the present day, several hundred samples of military equipment have been installed here and many engineering structures have been built, intended for use as targets.
Satellite image of Google Earth: decommissioned aircraft at a simulated enemy airfield
The American military acted on a large scale and spared no effort and money to equip the test site and make the targets as close as possible to real objects. Thus, an airfield with a runway length of about 1,500 meters was built at the test site. Decommissioned fighters are located at the parking lots and the runway, and anti-aircraft positions have been simulated in the vicinity of the airfield, where models of anti-aircraft installations, radars and air defense systems are installed. Although shooting at these targets is carried out with practical ammunition with inert warheads, due to the high intensity of the exercises and tests, the targets have to be regularly restored and replaced.
Satellite image of Google Earth: a target at the White Sands training ground, simulating the position of the air defense system
To give maximum realism and practice electronic warfare techniques when performing exercises and practical shooting, the range has several fortified bunkers with equipment that reproduces the radiation of radars and guidance stations for anti-aircraft missiles of Soviet, Russian and Chinese production.
Satellite image of Google Earth: the position of a self-propelled howitzer battery at the White Sands training ground
In addition to aircraft and mock-ups of air defense systems, a large number of military-decommissioned trucks, armored personnel carriers, tanks, towed and self-propelled artillery are installed at the test site. A few kilometers north of the target complex depicting an enemy airfield, a defense line of a Soviet motorized rifle battalion, reinforced with tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft weapons, was erected.
Convenient location, suitable weather conditions and excellent technical equipment of the training ground allow regular large-scale military exercises of different types of troops to be held here. In addition to American units, foreign military contingents of allied countries also take part in the exercises.
Back in the early 60s, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany decided to save money on training aircraft and abandon the training of military pilots on their territory. The training and training of West German pilots was transferred to the United States, which was generally justified then, since the basis of the Luftwaffe's combat aviation was made up of American Starfighters and Phantoms. Since 1996, the German training center in Holloman has been called the Tactical Training Center. Thus, it can be argued that the FRG has a military base on American territory. To carry out combat training on American territory, the Germans bought two dozen F-4Fs from the US ILC.
Despite the fact that the planes belonged to the Luftwaffe, they all bore American markings and were instructed by American pilots. These machines flew at the Holloman airbase until December 20, 2004, after which they were returned to Germany.
German fighter-bombers "Tornado" at Holloman airbase
After the adoption of the Tornado fighter-bombers by the German Air Force in the late 70s, these machines soon appeared in New Mexico. Every year, 300 to 600 West German servicemen were trained here as part of a three-week combat training course. Among them were not only the flight crew, but also the technical staff. When working out training tasks at the training ground, German pilots paid special attention to flights at extremely low altitudes, practicing the use of electronic warfare equipment and combating air defense systems. Sometimes during the flights, emergency situations arose: for example, on September 29, 1999, two German fighter-bombers crashed 20 km from the town of Carlsbad. Since the planes that crashed at the test site belonged to the German Air Force, the details of this incident were not disclosed in the United States.
Joint flight of the Tornado fighter-bomber and the American supersonic trainer T-38
Ten years ago, 650 troops and 25 Tornado aircraft were stationed in the German sector of the Holloman airbase. However, due to budgetary savings and a reduction in the number of Luftwaffe combat aircraft, the German military presence in New Mexico has decreased. Now there are no more than 12 Tornadoes and about 300 military personnel.
Satellite image of Google Earth: mobile radar post at the White Sands training ground
Test control and flight safety in the vicinity of the airbase and over the range are provided by several stationary and mobile radars. In the 60s and 70s, these were the AN / TPS-43 and AN / TPS-44 mobile radars. Later they were replaced by three-coordinate radar AN / TPS-75 with PFAR. Also, stationary AN / FPS-117 radars are installed on the tops of the mountain ranges dominating the polygon.
Satellite image of Google Earth: stationary radar post at the White Sands training ground
Satellite image of Google Earth: stationary radar AN / FPS-16AX at the White Sands training ground
Since the first half of the 70s, three AN / FPS-16AX radars, capable of tracking targets in space, have provided control of ballistic missile launches and experiments in the field of missile defense. The 4th space control squadron is in charge of radar maintenance. The personnel of the unit are also entrusted with the tasks of transmitting and receiving information via satellite communication channels.
The southern part of the White Sands range is used for training firing of the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system. For a long time, the 6th Anti-Aircraft Brigade of the US Army, which is the main center for the preparation of air defense calculations, was stationed at the Fort Bliss military base in Texas. At the moment, the "Fort Bliss" is the center for the preparation of air defense calculations of the Bundeswehr. It is expected to stay here until 2020. After that, it is planned to create a similar training center in Greece.
For practical firing, the Patriot air defense missile systems from Fort Bliss in Texas are marching towards the White Sands training ground in New Mexico. At the southern end of the landfill there are prepared positions for the elements of the air defense missile system, as well as living quarters for personnel and sources of fresh water. The last training launch took place here on December 10, 2015. SAM "Patriot" successfully hit the Juno target missile. At the same time, the contrail from the anti-aircraft missile and the cloud formed when the warhead was detonated were visible at a great distance.
As reported, in addition to training the calculations, during the missile firing, the missile defense system with an extended shelf life was tested. Originally, the guaranteed shelf life of anti-aircraft missiles was 7 years. Based on the test results, it was decided to extend the service life of the missiles to 22.5 years. Despite the fact that the military units stationed at Fort Bliss have undergone significant reductions over the past decade, the base of anti-aircraft missile systems will remain here. Currently, the White Sands training ground is the only place in the United States for training and test firing of the Patriot air defense system of all modifications. This is primarily due to the favorable geographic location and the availability of the necessary infrastructure at the test site.
