Testing Death PraegerSecurityInternational AdvisoryBoard Board Cochairs Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor of Public and International Affairs, Schoolof Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia (U.S.A.) Paul Wilkinson, Professor of International Relations and Chairman of the Advisory Board, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews (U.K.) Members Vice Admiral Arthur K. Cebrowski, USN (Ret.), former Director of Force Transformation, Officeof theSecretary of Defense (U.S.A.) Eliot A. Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies and Di- rector, Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, The JohnsHopkinsUniversity (U.S.A.) Anthony H. Cordesman, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for Strategic and InternationalStudies(U.S.A.) The´re`se Delpech, Senior Research Fellow, CERI (Atomic Energy Commis- sion),Paris (France) Sir Michael Howard, former Professor of History of War, Oxford Uni- versity,andProfessorofMilitaryandNavalHistory,YaleUniversity(U.K.) LieutenantGeneralClaudiaJ.Kennedy,USA(Ret.),formerDeputyChiefof Stafffor Intelligence, Headquarters, Departmentof theArmy (U.S.A.) Paul M. Kennedy, J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History and Direc- tor, InternationalSecurity Studies, Yale University (U.S.A.) RobertJ.O’Neill,formerChicheleProfessoroftheHistoryofWar,AllSouls College, Oxford University (Australia) Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, Depart- ment ofGovernmentand Politics, University ofMaryland (U.S.A.) Jusuf Wanandi, co-founder and member, Board of Trustees, Centre for Strategic and InternationalStudies(Indonesia) Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International(U.S.A.) TESTING DEATH Hughes Aircraft Test Pilots and Cold War Weaponry George J. Marrett Foreword by D. Kenneth Richardson Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data Marrett, George J. Testingdeath :Hughes aircraft testpilots andCold Warweaponry / George J.Marrett ;foreword byD.KennethRichardson. p. cm. Includesbibliographical references and index. ISBN0-275-99066-4 (alk.paper) 1. Marrett, GeorgeJ. 2. Testpilots—United States—Biography. 3. Airplanes, Military—United States—Armament—Testing. 4. HughesAircraft Company—History. I. Title. TL540.M34852006 623.74'64092—dc22 2006006631 British LibraryCataloguing inPublication Data isavailable. Copyright #2006byGeorge J.Marrett All rightsreserved. No portionof this bookmaybe reproduced, byanyprocess ortechnique, withoutthe express writtenconsent ofthepublisher. Library of CongressCatalog Card Number: 2006006631 ISBN: 0-275-99066-4 First published in2006 Praeger Security International, 88Post RoadWest,Westport, CT06881 An imprintof Greenwood PublishingGroup, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed intheUnited Statesof America The paperused inthis bookcomplies withthe Permanent PaperStandard issued bytheNational Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The author and publishergratefully acknowledgepermission touse quotedmaterial from thefollowing:Nick Allen, CarolynBeatson, Bruce Burk,Richard Chikami, Harry Dugan, James Eastham, Angel JohnJamar, EugeneMartin, HookMagazine, Jack Real, L.A.Hyland,Bruce Bromme,and David Ludwick. To my wife, Jan, who stood by me through the Vietnam War, flight tests in the U.S. Air Force and Hughes Aircraft Company, and finally many days with my head in the clouds. Contents Foreword by D. Kenneth Richardson ix Preface xv Acknowledgments xix 1 Sore Feet 1 2 Jet Pilot 17 3 Combat and the F-15 Eagle Fly-Off 43 4 The Impossible Journey 69 5 Ace of the Test Range 89 6 Bombing the Blue Eel Railroad Bridge 109 7 Flying Dumbo 115 viii Contents 8 Gathering of Eagles and One Turkey 125 9 California Dreamin’ 137 10 Hitting the Jackpot in Vegas 153 11 A Hornet with Two Stings 163 12 The Dream 177 Epilogue 183 Bibliography 197 Index 199 A photo essay follows page 68. Foreword We at Hughes Aircraft Company were an inspired bunch. By the late 1980s our staff had reached 85,000 employees; 22,000 were engineers andscientists,4,000withPhDs.Theengineerswereacreativelot,driven by technology pressures to deter the U.S.S.R. in the Cold War, with an undying motivation to leap forward with inventions in previously un- charted waters. We all felt the technical advancement of our weaponry wasachiefspuronourworldrivaltotrytoreachourperformancelevels. The Soviet Union seldom matched our technical prowess, resulting in an economic collapse that forced them to end the Cold War. Hughes Aircraft Company’s origins enjoyed the creative genius and ‘‘doitdifferently’’techniquesofitsfounder,HowardR.Hughes.Inthelate 1940sitsbusinessofaircraftdesign,construction,andasupplierofaircraft subassemblies transitioned to first-line electronics. We could well have beenrenamed‘‘Hughes—EverythingElectronics—Company.’’Ourinven- tions enabled combat aircraft to find air and ground targets, compute and analyzethebestinterceptapproach,prepareandlaunchguidedweapons,as wellastokeeptheaircrewvisuallyandaudiblyinformed.Theseelectronic products were called integrated weapon control systems. They included