'You Gotta Be Sh*ttin' Me': 5 Most Secret Aircraft Missions

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By the mid-1970s, both the United States Air Force and the United States Navy suffered significant casualties in North Vietnam, particularly in terms of fighter pilots.

The enemy’s Soviet-made MiG-17 aircraft and their pilots appeared to have the edge against the American F-4s, and their use of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles made the skies even more treacherous.

The standard air-to-air training received by F-4 crews at the time consisted of around 10 flights only. It was determined that the drastic losses of American fighter pilots resulted from a lack of training in the art of the dogfight, and that a top-secret training division of the US Air Force should be created.

Born in 1977 and dubbed ‘Project Constant Peg’ as an ode to Peggy, the wife of a high-ranking official, the new specialized training program sought to bolster the tactical performance of new and existing Air Force squadrons.

To accommodate the training exercises, a secret airfield was constructed in a remote location in the Nevada desert, and to get hold of the necessary MiG aircraft for training, the Air Force pulled out all the stops. MiGs were reclaimed from scrap yards, bought from collectors and foreign military organizations, and even dug out of locations where they had crashed and become buried...

[JCMills]

The USAF Aggressor Squadrons were doing this in europe back in the 70's. I was a crew chief on an F-5E with the 527th Aggressor Squadron.

[VictusUnus]

Another perk about War Thunder is every so often, someone on the forums posts classified documents to win arguments.

[davegriffith]

"It's red and white with stripes and curtains in the windows and wheels... looks like a big Tylenol! "

[kbrock]

I want the motto of my super secret tactical group to be, "YGBSM".

[TheMitchyb]

I’ll betcha a dollar that if Top Gun was called Constant Peg the movie would have been a lot different

[RandomTrinidadian]

"You Gotta Be Shi++in' Me"

That has to be like, the best slogan ever 😁😁😁

[TimHunold]

Janet flights go by the Maverick Helicopters terminal frequently. If you go for the heli trip to the grand canyon and strip at sunset, you'll see a few roll by like anybody else

[Kriss_L]

One reason US aviation losses were so high is that the politicians imposed a positive ID requirement. So a BVR missile is not going to do any good when you have to get too close to use your main weapon system. Same with the Navy's decision not to include a gun on their F-4s - wouldn't be needed if your shooting missile 10 - 15 miles away.

Never under estimate the political ability to nullify US military technology and training.

[MrMinuteman]

It's pronounced Tone-a-paw.
I grew up in southern Nevada and our school played Tonapaha in sports.

[codystout]

I remember reading a story about a pilot. That was flying to Nevada and spotted a mig-21. It was obviously part of this program. He had no idea and was trying to figure out ways to bring it down. Both aircraft obviously being unarmed. In my mind I would have thought how in the heck did he get this far.

[tim.liltlilililmtim.bigtbi]

Sure do appreciate your show.
Very well put together.
Thank You.

[imtoooldforthisstuff]

You missed a good one. The 4450th TFS. The group provided training, and cover, for the F-117's while undergoing testing, pilot training and early development. They used A-7D Corsair II's with an LV tail code to show their proximity to Las Vegas (Tonopah Test Range). The 4450th was deactivated after the F-117's were made public in 1989.

[EdwardNigmaSL]

Just going to leave out The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment "Night Stalkers" there huh?

[Patrick.Weightman]

9:27 This is exactly why FOIA requests are a complete and utter joke. Why would they willingly give up classified information just because someone asked nicely?

[PhantomBulletGames]

Janet is not a squadron. It's contracted out.

[RogueAce]

Another great vid, man!! Save for the Red Eagles, I didn’t even know about the other squadrons! Who knows what other units out there have yet to reveal their existence and the roles they play?!

Can you do another video about say, the highest-scoring/most famous fighter squadrons/wings?

[anthrax]

The 6593rd did not use the C-130 Hercules. They used the C-119 Flying Boxcar.

[bender]

I was thinking about the Corona project when we should be snagging a Chinese balloon instead blowing the payload into confetti.

[TheSpookiestgoose]

“5 military secrets your not supposed to know… BROUGHT TO YOU BY WAR THUNDERRR!!!” 😂😂😂😂

[shanastroskyphazer]

awesome video. I have been a fan of your channel for a few years now ! great work. I guess I'm old school but I would love to see and hear video with original audio from the various aircraft. But I guess its probably hard to get good original audio from these wonderful aircraft. However the music choices are always great too ! I will never forget when about 5 old school spitfire fighter planes were flying in formation around the peninsula where I was living at the time. The sound was absolutely incredible ! Loud, aggressive, and a little haunting. But I loved it. Because it was a peaceful flying display and was truly awesome. Thanks !