IRST Pod Toting “Ghost” F-16D Based At "Area 51" Groom Lake seen flying through the Star Wars canyon.
IRST Pod Toting “Ghost” F-16D crew wearing Red Eagles and Red Hats patches.
Red Eagles and Red Hats patches.
Lt. Col. Eric Schultz was a combat veteran US Air Force Test Pilot with over 2000 hours flying numerous aircraft. During the past 24 years, his career spanned fighter combat and flight test operations, business management, and research and development applied to aerospace, energy and safety. His military experiences included: over 210 missions flight testing the F-35 and CF-18; Director of Operations and Exchange Officer at the Canadian Forces Flight Test Center; fighter pilot flying the F-15E with over 50 close air support combat missions in Afghanistan; and systems engineering for the Airborne Laser program.
Lt. Col. Eric Schultz at the controls of and F-35. He was just the 28th pilot to fly the F-35, a task that seemed to end around 2013. From then on it seems as if he began working in the clandestine flight test world. He was killed in a crash near the Nevada Test and Training Range on 9/05/2017. The plane that was involved in the crash remained classified until 2022, but it was suspected to be a Su-27P, which was later confirmed in the declassified report.
Schultz was the Red Hats squadron commander at the time of his death. The Red Hats became an unnumbered unit within the Detachment 3, AFTC test wing after the 413th flight test squadron (formerly 6513th test squadron) was deactivated in 2004. Over recent years the unit has operated a variety of Russian-developed combat types, including the MiG-29 and several Sukhoi-developed models such as the Su-27P, one of which was recently observed flying in the vicinity.” The test and development programs include opposing forces threat simulation and testing using Russian built Sukhoi SU-27 (NATO codename “Flanker”) aircraft. Photo taken from the Tikaboo Valley near the Groom Lake, Nevada test range.
