| Electronic Warfare - Naval Missile Center |
Eagle Air-to-Air Missile Program, Naval Missile Center, Pt. Mugu, CA
When my military obligation was completed, I resigned my Active Duty Regular Army Commission and accepted a position as a Physicist/Electronic Engineer at the Naval Missile Center, Point Mugu, California.
Some of the top leadership from the Naval Missile Center had visited my missile site some months before I was to get out of the Regular Army for a briefing of how the Nike System operated. They were in the process of setting up at Point Mugu some missile testing for surface to air missiles, and they wanted first-hand information on how the Army was doing this Nike thing. I held nothing back, telling them of the system weaknesses and the faults of the system. They were startled and impressed. They said they had a position for me at Point Mugu if I ever decided to resign from the Army. I took them up on the job offer, and they had figured me out as to where best to use me. My first duty was as the Project Engineer for the countermeasures test and evaluation of the Eagle Air-to-Air Missile System
This was an exciting assignment requiring me to fly in different types of Navy aircraft almost daily for the extensive testing program. I was required to study weapons systems employed by the Russians and know them well enough to plan for the compromise of these systems by our own. My job was to decide if the Eagle Missile System could do the job it was touted to do, or whether or not the contractor was trying to sell the government a bag of worms. The Eagle system had a large missile to be launched from a Navy aircraft and be guided by a radar on board that aircraft. If the enemy turned on a jamming device, the missile was to switch to an on-board tracking radar and complete the flight to the target.
My assignment included the evaluation of both the missile and its systems to those system elements on the launch aircraft.
There could not have been a better fit for a job for me than what I was assigned at the Naval Missile Center. I was like a kid playing with new toys. I was into the latest technology in airborne radars and their computers. The Eagle missile was a very complex device that was designed to do a multitude of chores. The latest in Russian equipment and technologies was also at my fingertips.
The radar designed for the Missileer was called a "track-while-scan" radar, able to lock on to various targets and still be able to search for other targets as well. Both the radar and the Eagle missile had the capability to switch from tracking in a "clear" non jamming environment and then going to a tracking mode which enabled the system to track a target that was electronically jamming the system. What a learning experience this was for me. I really got to know the technology up close.
The Eagle system failed to meet the Navy's requirements and I was instrumental in this finding. I was not a hero with the manufacturer of the Eagle System. I received several commendations for my work as well as a large cash award for a classified technique that determined the launch window for missiles. I was promoted twice in this organization. I was also awarded an important patent by the U.S. Patent Office for a highly classified tracking technique.
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| Carrier based light bomber, the A3D, assigned to the Electronic Warfare Division at Point Mugu. I got to fly a lot of hours in these aircraft as part of the Eagle Missile Program. |
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| Eagle Air-to-Air Missile Program |
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| Dick Holt revisits the Naval Missile Center, Point Mugu, California in 2007. A lot of his personal history is right here at Point Mugu. Dick was the Project Engineer for the test and evaluation of the Eagle Missile until the program was cancelled because of many faults in the design. |
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| F61 Missileer Aircraft that was to be the launch vehicle for the Eagle Air-to-Air missile |
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F6D-1 Missileer
In the late 1950s, the US Navy was interested in obtaining an interceptor to protect carrier battle groups from Soviet strike aircraft. The Navy required a Fleet Air Defense aircraft with a longer loiter time on patrol than current fighters, the ability to carry a larger and more capable air-to-air missile, and the ability to intercept and defeat threats to the fleet at much greater distances from the carrier.
In 1957, the U.S. Navy began to plan a new concept for airborne fleet defense. A large subsonic interceptor with a powerful radar was to be equipped with very long range high speed air-to-air missiles to shoot down approaching Soviet strike aircrafts and bombers. In 1958, Bendix and Grumman were selected as contractors for the AAM-N-10 Eagle missile. A year later the Douglas XF6D-1 Missileer design was chosen for the launch platform with an order for two prototypes.
The most important feature of the F6D was its Westinghouse AN/APQ-81 pulse-doppler radar, the first track-while-scan radar developed for a fighter aircraft. The AN/APQ-81 could detect targets at a distance of 220 km (120 nm), but the F6D would normally be supported by W2F-1 (later E-2) Hawkeye AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft which could detect threats at ranges of more than 370 km (200 nm). After launch, the AAM-N-10 would be boosted to Mach 3.5 by a large solid-propellant rocket booster with folding fins, and after a glide period, the long-burning solid-fueled sustainer motor would propel the missile toward its target at a speed of Mach 4.5.
The AN/APQ-81, which could simultaneously track up to eight targets from 150 km (80 nm) away, would send guidance commands to the individual missiles to keep the latter on course to their respective targets. With the mid-course command guidance, the AAM-N-10 could fly an energy-efficient "lofted" trajectory, and maximum aerodynamic range was more than 300 km (160 nm). When the Eagle would be close enough to the target, the missile's own radar would take over and guide the weapon to the interception point.
The effective interception range of the F6D/AAM-N-10 combination was about 200 km (110 nm), but the AAM-N-10's radar could also home directly on jamming sources, in which case effective range could be as big as 300 km (160 nm). Normally, the Eagle would have used a large high-explosive warhead, but a low-yield W-42 nuclear fission warhead was also considered for some time.
The program started with the threat projections being such that it was becoming very difficult to protect the fleet against Mach 2 raids coming in. The Navy had to have something better than we had with F4/Sparrow capability aircraft. All the studies said regular fighters just couldn't get there in time to shoot down enough and the surface-to-air missiles just couldn't handle the degree of the threat either. It turned out that studies in the mid-fifties indicated that the state of the art in radar was such that we could do a long-range radar search type of thing and get it into an airplane. Took about a five foot dish to do it.
On 21 July 1960 the Navy announced that a contract for the development of the Missileer aircraft for launching the Eagle long-range air-to-air guided missile, was being issued to the Douglas Aircraft Corporation. The development of the Eagle missile had preceded the airplane by a year or two. The TF-30 engine got started about that time in order to provide the engine and the missile system in time to match the airplane. It was to be a subsonic airplane, two turbo fan engines, two place side by side and with a five foot radar dish in the nose.
The F6D-1 was a subsonic aircraft that looked a lot like a scaled-up F3D Skyknight. It was to be powered by two 10,000 lb.s.t. Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-2 turbofans, and was to carry a three-man crew (pilot, co-pilot, and weapons system operator). The Missileer was to be capable of remaining on patrol for up to six hours, tracking targets at long range using its powerful Westinghouse APQ-81 pulsed-Doppler track-while-scan radar and attacking threats with its six long-range Bendix XAAM-10 Eagle air-to-air missiles.
The Eagle was a massive long-range air-to-air missile with a maximum speed of Mach 4. It was equipped with an advanced pulse-Doppler active radar homer. The warhead of the Eagle could be either conventional or nuclear.
The concept of a "launch platform" rather than a pure "fighter" to defend the fleet met with opposition, since the craft would become defenseless right after all missiles have been launched. The airplane would certainly have been a success, but would have required a complementary fighter to handle the jobs requiring airplane speed and agility. The whole idea was at least a bit ahead of its time and the development program didn't go well. It was a controversial airplane in the sense it was such a low performance airplane. The air frame part of the game was really not too difficult a technical job. It would have been obviously a lot easier than it would have been doing a supersonic type of airplane.
Eventually, the Navy development organizations became convinced that the F6D was too slow, too narrow in application, and too expensive. The Eagle missile program faltered as well. Consequently, the F6D and its Eagle missiles were both put on hold in December of 1960 in the waning days of the Eisenhower administration. The outgoing administration did not want to let a full development contract until the incoming administration approved the program
In 1960, the Navy development organizations became convinced that the XF6D-1 was too expensive, and changed in favor of exploring the feasibility of using the F-111B. The Eagle missile program faltered as well. The XF6D-1 and Eagle missiles were both put on hold in December of 1960, before any XAAM-N-10 prototypes could be tested. However, the idea of a long-range fleet-defense interceptor was realized later with the F-14 Tomcat and the AAM-N-11/AIM-54 Phoenix missile.
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| The Eagle Air-to-Air Missile |
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| Another of the many types of aircraft we used in our electronic warfare test and evaluation programs. We had three of these F4B models assigned to our unit and we the engineers rode the rear seat using all the loaded electronic control equipment for a particular test. This was quite an aircraft. |
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I thoroughly enjoyed the time in the electronic warefare atmosphere. I became a member of the "Old Crows", an honorary society of engineers that had worked in electronic warfare. I was really into this job and enjoying it much like a little kid enjoys a new toy. But then the hammer came down on me. I was going to be moved out of my sandbox into another.
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| It was a distinct honor to be asked to join the Old Crow Society. |
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The Association of the Old Crows
The Association of Old Crows is an international professional organization specializing in electronic warfare, tactical information operations, and associated disciplines headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. This nonprofit organization's mission is to "advocate the need for a strong defense capability emphasizing electronic warfare and information operations to government, industry, academia, and the public."
The name "Old Crows" emerged from the first use of electronic warfare in World War II to disrupt Axis communications and radars. Allied equipment and operators were known by the code name "Raven". Common jargon changed the name to "Crows" and those engaged in the profession became known as "Old Crows".
The organization draws expertise and information from its members, a pool of thousands of individuals including technology specialists and actual military personnel, and is involved in advancing electronic warfare and information-gathering techniques, disseminating information on these topics, and supporting the education of personnel in related scientific matters.
The above information is gleaned from the Old Crow Society web site on the Internet, maintained by Wilkipedia
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| Meeting John Wayne at Point Mugu. |
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I was at my desk one morning, early, when Marine Colonel John Ross, left in the photo above, came up to me, grabbed me by the lapels and practically dragged me out of the building without saying very much to me. When he got me outside, he said that John Wayne was on base, making a movie, that John loved Marines, and that he wanted me to go with him to the beach where the movie, North to Alaska was being filmed right there at Mugu.
Col. Ross was right. His duty driver took us right up to the rope barriers where we got out and stood there for no more than five minutes before John Wayne saw Col Ross in his Marine uniform and sent an orderly over to invite him to sit behind the camera and watch the filming. Of course Col. Ross had to say that his young friend Dick Holt should also come with him, so Col. Ross and I spent all that day, lunch with the cast, and then after work at a buffet dinner also with Mr. Wayne and his cast feeling very much like a part of a movie studio.
What a wonderful opportunity. And this photo was actually sent to me directly by John Wayne about two weeks later with a note from him about the good work we were doing at Mugu. Quite a thrill for both Col. Ross and myself. And by the way, Col. Ross was our senior test pilot flying all our Electronic Warfare aircraft. I had spent many hours in the cockpits with him and he and I had become good friends.
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A New Direction - The Navy Dolphin Program
One day I was unexpectedly called in to the Commanding Admiral's office at Point Mugu and was told that he was going to transfer me to a new assignment at Mugu. I told the Admiral that I was happy as a kid in a sandbox and did not want a new assignment, whereupon the Admiral told me that it didn't matter what I thought, that for the good of the Navy, this assignment was to be accepted. He even went so far as to say that he had the authorization to put me back on active duty in the Army and assign me to this new job.
With this conversation, I was transferred from the Naval Air Station Electronics Warfare Division to a brand new organization at Point Mugu, the Navy Dolphin Program.
Now comes one of the most interesting assignments in the career of Richard Holt or any person for that matter. I became a member of the Navy Dolphin Program.
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