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- A sampling of classified programs
- -------------------------------
- by Paul McGinnis, April 16, 1995
-
- I am a researcher into classified U.S. military programs. As a way of gaining
- some knowledge of classified ("black") programs, since December 1994, I've been
- keeping some tabs on highly classified programs that are listed in "Commerce
- Business Daily". For those who are unfamiliar with this publication, I should
- explain that CBD lists government contracts that are available.
-
- I used keyword searching through a computerized form of CBD, looking for words
- like Top Secret, SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information, used for intelligence
- contracts), Special Access Required (SAR, a type of classified program that has
- extremely tight access controls), and other words of interest. I put this list
- together, just to show taxpayers how the U.S government is planning to spend
- your money in secret. So, let's sample what's in Uncle Sam's "black" hat...
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1239, date: 12/09/94 [Part of one of the most secretive
- intelligence operations around, the U.S. Atomic Energy Detection System USAEDS),
- is the Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick AFB. They put out a
- contract for technical and engineering support. Classified at the Top Secret
- SCI level].
- "AFTAC efforts involve the comprehensive research, development, and operation
- and maintenance of systems to increase the understanding of the complicated
- technical problems associated with the detection and identification of nuclear
- events in the atmosphere, underground, and in space (including analysis of data collected by these systems)."
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1243, date: 12/15/94 [the Army's Vint Hill Farms Station in
- Warrenton, Virginia listed a contract for "communications equipment". Vint
- Hill Farms Stations is a National Security Agency (NSA) SIGINT (Signals
- Intelligence) post. Contract is classified at the Top Secret/SI (Special
- Intelligence) level.]
- "The RFP will entail three (3) major efforts: (1) Integration of Government
- Furnished and Contractor provided IEW sensor subsystems into Government
- furnished carriers (platforms); (2) production of the TACJAM-A Electronic
- Support (ES) sensor subsystem; (3) and production of the CHALS-X Communications
- Precision Location subsystem."
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1284, date: 02/15/95 [the Military Sealift Command at the
- Washington Navy Yard listed a Top Secret contract to operate and maintain 10
- TAGOS (??) ships. My guess is that TAGOS is some kind of intelligence gathering
- ship. Anyone know anything about the Top Secret TAGOS program?]
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1287, date: 02/21/95 [the following Top Secret/SCI contract
- was listed:]
- "The Headquarters US Army Intelligence and Security Command (USAINSCOM) [at
- Fort Belvoir, Virginia] intends to procure research and manufacturing services
- to identify, synthesize, and test toxic chemical, smoke, and flame agents and
- related equipment as well as to develop computer programs to store, retrieve
- and manipulate chemical warfare information.
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1288, date: 02/22/95 [Andrews AFB in Maryland has a Top Secret
- contract for work on the HF (shortwave) and satellite communications system
- code-named MYSTIC STAR that is used on Air Force One, and other aircraft used
- by government officials.]
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1289, date: 02/23/95 and CBD issue PSA-1316, date: 04/03/95
- [A contract for research, operation, maintenance, and support for the Air
- Force's Maui Space Surveillance System. This site, and a similar site near
- Socorro, NM (a source indicated this site was near Stallion AAF) have powerful
- telescopes that are used to identify and study foreign satellites.) Classified
- at the Top Secret level.]
- "The MSSS consists of the Maui Optical Tracking and Identification Facility
- (MOTIF) and the Air Force Maui Optical System (AMOS). The Advanced
- Electro-Optical System (AEOS) is in the development and construction stages."
-
- * CBD issue Issue PSA-1296, date: 03/06/95 and CBD issue PSA-1301, date:
- 03/13/95 [the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO) operation at
- Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, listed a contract for engineering and technical
- analysis support, classified at the Top Secret/SCI level. A lot of people may
- not be aware that DARO was created in the last few years to manage U.S.
- reconnaissance aircraft, the same way the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
- manages our spy satellites. DARO is currently involved with classified UAV
- (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) programs, such as the Lockheed/Boeing Tier 3- that
- will roll out in June 1995, assets such as the RC-135 COBRA BALL aircraft, and
- there are rumors that they are agency studying a high speed SR-71 follow-on. One
- rumor is that this vehicle is the aircraft known by the code-word OMEGA (Program
- Element 0207591F), which is reported to be a high speed Trans Atmospheric
- Vehicle (TAV).]
-
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1308, date: 03/22/95 [Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command
- (SPAWAR) in Arlington, Virginia is looking for engineering test and evaluation
- of the VLF (Very Low Frequency) communcations systems used to send launch
- orders to Trident ballistic missile submarines and others. Classified at the
- Top Secret level.]
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1310, date: 03/24/95 [an avionics package for the F-22,
- classified as a Secret/Special Access Required program, for Wright-Patterson
- AFB, Ohio]
- "Airborne Communications, Navigation, Identification (CNI) systems of
- currently fielded aircraft are becoming cost, size, and weight prohibitive,
- they are difficult to upgrade to meet new requirements and the dynamic threat
- environments... The objective of the Integrated CNI Subsystem (ICNIS) program
- is to investigate technology risk areas for transitioning integrated modular
- hardware and software assets being developed under the F-22 program to
- currently fielded aircraft... Specifically, the ICNIS architecture must be
- capable of: supporting fault tolerance, including dynamic reconfiguration, and
- being programmable, to allow new waveforms to be added in software, and being
- expandable, so that additional modules can be added to cover other frequency
- bands."
-
- * CBD issue PSA-1311, date: 03/27/95 and issue PSA-1317 date: 04/04/95,
- [engineering technical services needed for the Space Warfare Center, Peterson
- AFB, Colorado, for TENCAP (Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities,
- i.e., the use of spy satellite imagery by tactical units), classified as a Top
- Secret/Special Access Required/SCI program]
-
-
- Paul McGinnis / TRADER@cup.portal.com / PaulMcG@aol.com
- http://www.portal.com/~trader/secrecy.html
-
- If you're interested in receiving the NEON AZIMUTH, my electronic
- newsletter on the "sources and methods" that can be used to uncover
- secret military programs, send a mail message.
-
- **********************************************************************
-
- Anonymous FTP access to files dealing with excessive military secrecy
- is available from Internet host ftp.shell.portal.com (IP address
- 156.151.3.4) in the /pub/trader directory. Read the 00readme files for
- descriptions of the files.
-
- (America Online users can use Keyword:FTP, and Web users can use URL
- ftp://ftp.shell.portal.com/pub/trader/ )
-