Pilots Provide Fascinating Commentary On Video Of America’s Secret Red Eagles MiG Squadron

Updated Nov 27, 2020 6:15 PM EST

It’s no secret that America flew an assortment of captured and acquired Russian fighter jets under extreme secrecy as part of a program dubbed Constant Peg in the late 1970s and 1980s. The 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron “Red Eagles” that conducted these highly classified missions, operated from the secluded Tonopah Test Range (TTR) airfield in a corner of the Nevada Test and Training Range in order to provide exposure to frontline U.S. fighter pilots of these valuable “assets.”

The War Zone has previously reported on a video clip that showed extremely rare footage of a “Red Eagles” MiG-23 in action at Tonopah during the era of Constant Peg, a program founded and commanded by Colonel Gail Peck . Now, a much longer version of this footage has been published by Red Eagles book author Steve Davies , on his YouTube channel 10 Percent True . The film not only provides new insight into the operations of the “Red Eagles” during this period, but it also includes candid reactions and commentary from two of the pilots that flew these aircraft.

The video gives incredible insight into the day-to-day operations of the “Red Eagles,” which operated at an extremely high level of classification. Russian MiG-21s, MiG-23s, and Chinese Chengdu F7s, are shown conducting missions from Tonopah, as they depart and recover from their sorties that were flown against U.S. military frontline fighter pilots. The missions were designed to give these aviators a taste of what it was like to meet real enemy aircraft in combat.

You can watch the video and a follow-up Q&A here:

The footage gives some indication of the scale of the Red Eagles’ activities at the height of Constant Peg, with one sequence showing no less than seven MiG-21s/F7s, on the flightline for a mass launch and another of a hangar packed with over a dozen “Fishbeds.” Another departure sequence shows another mass launch of MiG-23s and MiG-21s, possibly to take part in a mission in support of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

A MiG-23 Flogger on the flightline at Tonopah., YouTube Screencap

The video also includes never before publicly seen footage of Red Eagles operations around the original hangars built at Tonopah for Constant Peg, and these still stand today. Three of these Red Eagles hangars are the largest on the base, with 160-foot wide hangar doors.

The Red Eagles were part of America’s shadowy foreign materiel exploitation (FME) program, and dedicated towards training. The unit’s existence gave rise to the Tonopah Test Range Airport, which eventually also housed the 4450th Tactical Group’s F-117A Nighthawks , again in total secrecy . The FME program also included the 6513th Flight Test Squadron “Red Hats,” which was a unit dedicated towards the testing and evaluation of these captured assets from nearby Groom Lake, better known as Area 51.

Members of the “Red Eagles” woth one of the unit’s MiG-21s., USAF

Although the original 4477th TES and Constant Peg program was shut down in 1988, the Red Eagles continued on, with more advanced types, such as Su-27s and MiG-29s , flown by American pilots. Reports continue regarding the unit’s activities , indicating secretive operations to this very day at the Air Force’s clandestine flight test center at Groom Lake.

Meanwhile, Tonopah continues to host the F-117s in its semi-retired state, as well as a number of other programs that are cloaked in secrecy. It is also where a significant amount of FME “assets” are stored, including everything from ballistic missile launchers to enemy radar systems.

Video like this of Tonopah during its formative years and the activities of the clandestine Red Eagles remains extremely rare. It provides a fascinating insight into the lengths the U.S. military will go to in order to provide accurate, threat representative training, to its forces.

Contact the editor: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2020年11月27日下午6:15。

众所周知，在 20 世纪 70 年代末和 80 年代，美国曾秘密开展一项名为“恒速钉”（Constant Peg）的计划，使用缴获和获得的俄罗斯战斗机进行飞行训练。执行这些高度机密任务的第 4477 测试评估中队“红鹰”驻扎在内华达州测试训练靶场一角的偏僻的托诺帕测试靶场（TTR）机场，目的是让美国一线战斗机飞行员接触这些宝贵的“资产”。

此前，《战区》曾报道过一段极其罕见的视频片段，展现了“红鹰”中队一架米格-23战斗机在托诺帕空军基地执行任务的场景，当时正值“恒久定格”（Constant Peg）计划时期，该计划由盖尔·佩克上校创立并指挥。如今，《红鹰》一书的作者史蒂夫·戴维斯在他的YouTube频道“10%真实”（10 Percent True）上发布了这段视频的加长版。该视频不仅提供了关于“红鹰”中队在这一时期作战行动的新视角，还收录了两位曾驾驶过这些战机的飞行员的坦诚反应和评论。

这段视频令人深入了解了“红鹰”中队的日常行动，该中队行动高度保密。视频中展示了俄罗斯的米格-21、米格-23和中国的成都F7战斗机从托诺帕空军基地起飞执行任务，以及它们从与美国一线战斗机飞行员的对抗中起飞和返回的场景。这些任务旨在让这些飞行员​​体验在实战中与敌机交战的感觉。

您可以在这里观看视频和后续问答：

这段影像展现了“红鹰”中队在“恒久钉”行动高峰期的大规模活动，其中一个镜头显示至少有七架米格-21/F7战斗机停在跑道上，准备集体起飞；另一个镜头则显示一个机库里停满了十几架“鱼窝”战斗机。还有一个起飞镜头显示，另一批米格-23和米格-21战斗机再次集体起飞，可能是前往内华达州内利斯空军基地，执行支援美国空军武器学校的任务。

托诺帕机场跑道上的米格-23“鞭挞者”战斗机。（YouTube截图）

这段视频还包含从未公开过的“红鹰”中队在托诺帕基地为“康斯坦特·佩格”空军基地建造的原始机库周围的作战行动画面，这些机库至今仍然屹立。其中三个“红鹰”中队机库是基地内最大的机库，机库门宽达160英尺（约49米）。

“红鹰”中队是美国秘密的外国物资开发利用（FME）计划的一部分，专门负责训练。该部队的建立催生了托诺帕试验场机场，该机场最终也成为了第4450战术大队F-117A“夜鹰”战斗机的驻地，同样是在完全保密的情况下。FME计划还包括第6513飞行测试中队“红帽”，该中队专门负责测试和评估从附近的格鲁姆湖（即著名的51区）缴获的装备。

“红鹰”中队成员与该部队的一架米格-21战斗机合影。（美国空军）

尽管最初的第4477测试评估中队和“恒钉”计划于1988年终止，但“红鹰”中队依然存在，并装备了更先进的机型，例如苏-27和米格-29，由美国飞行员驾驶。关于该部队活动的报道至今仍在，表明其在位于格鲁姆湖的空军秘密飞行测试中心仍在进行秘密行动。

与此同时，托诺帕空军基地继续以半退役状态驻扎着F-117战斗机，并进行着许多其他高度保密的项目。这里还储存着大量FME“资产”，包括从弹道导弹发射器到敌方雷达系统等各种装备。

像这样记录托诺帕早期发展阶段以及秘密红鹰部队活动的影像资料极其罕见。它让我们得以深入了解美军为了向部队提供精准且具有代表性的威胁训练，会不遗余力地进行哪些工作。

联系编辑：Tyler@thedrive.com

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