Secretive Tonopah Test Range Airport Had A Mysteriously Busy Week In September

Updated Nov 27, 2020 6:13 PM EST

The secretive Tonopah Test Range Airport , located in the northwestern reaches of the Nevada Test and Training Range , the sprawling amalgam of restricted airspace that makes up much of Southern Nevada , usually appears to be a very quiet place in daytime satellite images, but once in a while that calm is broken . This was the case during the week of September 19th. The highly secure installation hosted a number of uncommon aircraft throughout the week in what appeared to be some sort of large test or training event.

Satellite imagery dated September 23rd, 2020 that The War Zone obtained from Planet Labs offers a peek into just how busy the remote installation was during this time period. What are usually empty ramps, aside from a couple ‘Janet’ 737 airliners that shuttle workers to and from the installation and Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport daily, became far more cluttered on that week. A number of uncommon visitors dotted the ramp, as well as a more common one— the base’s resident F-117 Nighthawks . The F-117s spent their formative, classified, years at Tonopah and were retired there in 2008, cocooned five to a hangar. Over the last decade, a handful of them have become remarkably active in the test and aggressor role .

Below is the wide-angle view of the activity last month. You will also notice that the long-running repairs to the southern portion of the base’s runway are nearly complete, but the displaced threshold is still in place. The south ramp and terminal used by the Janet jets is also still in the process being refurbished, with two of the private airline’s 737s parking in their temporary staging location towards the northern end of the ramp, the same area where the still-flying F-117s live.

PHOTO © 2020 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

To the south, a 757, likely a C-32B , sits parked between the runway and the high-security double-row fencing that leads to the main apron. Unlike its high-profile cousin, the C-32A that serves as an executive transport, including as Air Force One and Two depending on who is on board, the C-32B is all about keeping a low profile . Those that work out of McGuire AFB in New Jersey are used primarily as shuttles for special operations and intelligence teams, while the one based at Eglin AFB in Florida is thought to be used as an on-call transport for State Department-led Foreign Emergency Support Teams. The aircraft have an advanced communications suite and, unlike the C-32As, are capable of aerial refueling via a conformal refueling slipway that is unmarked.

The center of the action lies near the central ‘canyon’ of hangars, all of which were originally built for, at the time, the very secretive F-117 Nighthawk program . A very large number of vehicles have congregated in the canyon, most near the westernmost row of hangars. These hangars seem to have some association with the special operations community and often have transport aircraft, Black Hawk helicopters, CN-235s , and other airframes associated with that community parked nearby.

This is not necessarily the case in this instance. Instead, we see a Gulfstream V parked at the top of the hangar row. It is unclear who the aircraft belongs to, but it does have a distinctive black tail. This is not a totally unique feature, but one government contractor aircraft that has secure communications that are installed to be sufficient for continuity of government operations for a cabinet member or other top official does have a similar paint job.

A 767, which most likely belongs to Omni Air International, a private charter company that is notorious for its willingness to haul nearly anything or anyone anywhere for the U.S. government, is also seen nearby. The paint scheme matches and the fact that it is at this highly secure locale at all is further evidence of its ownership. A C-17 is also seen parked on the taxiway outside of the main ramp’s double fencing that leads to taxiways and runway.

To the north, we see Tonopah Test Range Airport’s most famous tenant, an F-117 Nighthawk. It’s rare to see the stealth jets in high-resolution satellite imagery at all, even though they are now very active. But in this case, we don’t only get to see one of them, it appears that a photoshoot was underway when the satellite was passing over. It looks like people are aligned in rows in a delta formation in front of the jet for the picture, with an elevated platform capturing it the front of the formation. The lighting would have been absolutely perfect for this shot and the positioning keeps the lens away from the base’s sensitive operating areas.

These aircraft were not transient in nature. Aside from the F-117, they were all present throughout the week, with just the C-17 moving around to a different parking space behind the C-32. As to what they were doing there? We have no idea. The small amount of evidence we have points to something special operations related. As we noted earlier, the base is a hub for some special operations training and aircraft testing, including the additions of new subsystems on existing types. For instance, Air Force Special Operations Command tested its defensive countermeasures systems aboard its then-new CV-22 Ospreys at Tonopah back in the late 2000s. The base would be the logical home of some clandestine tactical aerial assets as well, either developmental in nature or very low-density types, like say a pocket force of low observable (stealth) helicopters .

Beyond that, the NTTR has been extremely busy as of late. Some publicized tests, such as those related to the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) have used the range and surrounding installations. In August, the 53rd Wing at nearby Nellis Air Force Base also notably revealed that its 53rd Test and Evaluation Group had led a massive stealth-focused Large Force Test Event involving various Air Force and Navy combat aircraft and drones, including at least one secretive RQ-170 Sentinel from the top-secret 44th Reconnaissance Squadron .

But far more is going on that is not publicized. Aircraft radio interceptors have noted just how much action has been ongoing out on the ranges just in the last few weeks, which matches a huge uptick in aerial testing in other areas, namely over the Mojave Desert and off the coast of Southern California , as of late.

Radio interceptor Bryan Herbet, who goes by the handle @KE6ZGP on Twitter , noted the following to The War Zone:

Since the end of September, the radio traffic from NTTR went from amazing to insane. There was one night where radio traffic was non-stop until just after 3 AM. The increase in activity isn’t just limited to aircraft from Nellis. Known and unknown Groom Lake freqs have also been very active. Not just at night. They’ve been doing more flight tests during the day. My Nellis-Creech-NTTR freq list has over 100 freqs in it and in these last two weeks, I’ve found freqs in use that weren’t already in my list. Its not often you hear ZLA [Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center] working multiple aircraft above FL600, especially above NTTR, but they’ve been doing it.

You can hear a couple of Herbet’s most recent radio recordings from around the NTTR below:

Another recording from October 7th comes from our friends over at Dreamlandresort.com . It is of a multi-aircraft test, including the ultra-shy RAT55 signature measurement aircraft, over Area 51. You can listen to this intriguing recording here.

The bottom line is that with a huge push in research and development and readiness over the last few years, places like Tonopah Test Range Airport, Area 51, and the greater NTTR, are busier than ever. Whatever was going on at the remote installation over that week in late September was unique, but as to what exactly it was remains anyone’s guess.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2020年11月27日下午6:13。

位于内华达州试验训练场西北部、占据内华达州南部大部分地区的广袤禁飞区内的神秘的托诺帕试验场机场，通常在白天的卫星图像上显得十分安静，但偶尔也会打破这份宁静。9月19日那一周就出现了这种情况。这座高度戒备的设施在一周内迎来了多架不寻常的飞机，似乎正在进行某种大型测试或训练活动。

《战区》（The War Zone）从Planet Labs获取的2020年9月23日卫星图像，让我们得以一窥这座偏远基地在那段时间的繁忙程度。通常空旷的停机坪，除了每天往返于基地和拉斯维加斯麦卡伦国际机场的几架“珍妮特”（Janet）737客机外，在那一周变得异常拥挤。停机坪上出现了一些不常见的访客，当然也少不了一位“常客”——基地的F-117“夜鹰”战斗机。这些F-117战斗机在托诺帕基地度过了它们早期的秘密训练阶段，并于2008年退役，五架被封存在一个机库中。在过去的十年里，其中几架F-117在测试和假想敌任务中变得异常活跃。

下图是上个月的广角照片。您还可以注意到，基地跑道南段的长期维修工作已接近尾声，但移位的跑道入口仍然保留。珍妮特航空公司的飞机使用的南停机坪和航站楼也仍在翻新中，该私人航空公司的两架737飞机停放在停机坪北端附近的临时停放区，与仍在服役的F-117战斗机停放在同一区域。

照片版权所有 © 2020 PLANET LABS INC. 保留所有权利。经许可转载。

南侧，一架757飞机（很可能是C-32B）停放在跑道和通往主停机坪的高安全双排围栏之间。与它那高调的同系机型C-32A（用作行政专机，包括空军一号和空军二号，具体取决于机上人员）不同，C-32B以低调著称。驻扎在新泽西州麦圭尔空军基地的C-32B主要用于特种作战和情报小组的运输，而驻扎在佛罗里达州埃格林空军基地的C-32B则被认为是国务院领导的外国紧急支援小组的随叫随到运输机。这些飞机配备了先进的通信系统，并且与C-32A不同的是，它们可以通过一个没有标记的保形加油滑道进行空中加油。

行动中心位于中央“峡谷”状的机库群附近，这些机库最初都是为当时高度机密的F-117“夜鹰”战斗机项目而建。大量车辆聚集在“峡谷”内，其中大部分靠近最西侧的一排机库。这些机库似乎与特种作战部队有某种关联，附近经常停放着运输机、黑鹰直升机、CN-235运输机以及其他与该部队相关的飞机。

但这次的情况未必如此。我们看到一架湾流V型飞机停在机库最顶端。目前尚不清楚这架飞机的归属，但它的尾翼涂成了醒目的黑色。这并非完全独一无二，但某位政府承包商的飞机也采用了类似的涂装，该飞机配备了足以保障政府运作连续性的安全通信系统，服务对象为内阁成员或其他高级官员。

附近还可以看到一架波音767飞机，它很可能属于Omni Air International公司，这是一家以愿意为美国政府运送几乎任何物品或人员而臭名昭著的私人包机公司。飞机的涂装与Omni Air International的飞机相符，而且它出现在如此高度戒备的地点，进一步证明了它的所有权。此外，在通往滑行道和跑道的主停机坪双层围栏外的滑行道上，还可以看到一架C-17运输机停放在那里。

向北望去，我们看到了托诺帕试验场机场最著名的“租户”——一架F-117“夜鹰”隐形战机。尽管这种战机如今活动频繁，但在高分辨率卫星图像上却极为罕见。然而，这次我们看到的不仅仅是一架，而且似乎在卫星飞越时，正在进行拍摄。照片显示，人们在战机前方排成三角队形，站在一个高台上拍摄。光线条件堪称完美，而拍摄位置也巧妙地避开了基地敏感的作业区域。

这些飞机并非短暂停留。除了F-117之外，其他飞机整周都在那里，只有C-17转移到了C-32后面的另一个停机位。至于它们在那里做什么？我们不得而知。我们掌握的少量证据指向特种作战相关事宜。正如我们之前提到的，该基地是某些特种作战训练和飞机测试的中心，包括为现有机型加装新的子系统。例如，早在2000年代末，空军特种作战司令部就在托诺帕基地测试了当时新型CV-22“鱼鹰”倾转旋翼机的防御对抗系统。该基地也很有可能部署一些秘密战术空中力量，无论是处于研发阶段的，还是部署密度极低的机型，例如一支隐蔽（隐形）直升机小分队。

除此之外，NTTR近期也异常繁忙。一些公开的测试，例如与空军先进作战管理系统（ABMS）相关的测试，都使用了该靶场及其周边设施。8月，附近内利斯空军基地的第53联队也披露，其下属的第53测试与评估大队主导了一项大规模的隐身战机联合测试活动，参与测试的包括空军和海军的多款作战飞机和无人机，其中至少有一架来自高度机密的第44侦察中队的RQ-170“哨兵”无人机。

但还有更多未公开的活动正在进行。飞机无线电拦截器注意到，就在过去几周，靶场上的活动非常频繁，这与近期其他地区（特别是莫哈韦沙漠和南加州沿海地区）空中测试活动的激增相吻合。

无线电截获者布莱恩·赫伯特（Bryan Herbet，推特账号为@KE6ZGP）向《战区》（The War Zone）透露了以下信息：

自九月底以来，NTTR的无线电通讯从异常活跃变成了异常繁忙。有一晚，无线电通讯一直持续到凌晨3点多才停止。这种活跃度的提升不仅限于内利斯空军基地的飞机。格鲁姆湖空军基地已知的和未知的频率也变得异常活跃。而且不仅仅是在夜间，他们白天也进行了更多的飞行测试。我的内利斯-克里奇-NTTR频率列表里有超过100个频率，但在过去的两个星期里，我发现了一些列表中没有的频率正在被使用。很少听到洛杉矶空中交通管制中心（ZLA）在60000英尺以上的高空同时与多架飞机进行通信，尤其是在NTTR上空，但他们最近确实这么做了。

您可以在下方收听赫伯特最近在NTTR附近录制的几段广播节目：

10月7日，我们的朋友Dreamlandresort.com也提供了一段录音。这段录音记录了多架飞机在51区上空进行的测试，其中包括一架极其隐蔽的RAT55特征测量飞机。您可以在这里收听这段引人入胜的录音。

总之，过去几年里，随着研发和战备工作的大力推进，像托诺帕试验场机场、51区以及整个NTTR地区都比以往任何时候都更加繁忙。九月下旬那一周，那个偏远基地究竟发生了什么，至今仍是个谜。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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