For 50 years Edwards Air Force Base in California has been the
premier aircraft test facility in the world. The former Muroc Army
Airfield was renamed in 1949 to honor Capt. Glen Edwards who was killed
while testing the Northrop YB-49 flying wing.
Since 1949, Edwards has seen the best pilots and planes pushing the
limits of manned flight to the very edge. Edwards has tested every
modern aircraft in the U.S. aerospace inventory from the X-1 to the
Space Shuttle. Pilots who made history at Edwards include moon-walker
Neil Armstrong and Chuck Yeager, who broke the sound barrier.
On May 18, 1999, Sr. Col. Li Zhongli, Sr. Col. Wang Changzheng, and
Maj. Wang Shouxing made history at Edwards Air Force Base.
How did the Chinese military get inside Edwards AFB? At the height
of the U.S. war in Kosovo, two Chinese army air force (PLAAF) officers,
and a Chinese navy (PLN) aviation officer, toured America. The Chinese
officers gained entry to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, the civil
air facilities at Denver, Colo., and a guided tour of Edwards AFB on a
trip sponsored by MITRE Corp., Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
According to Clinton administration documents, on May 14, 1999, USAF
Lt. Col. Jim Robilotta accompanied the Chinese officers to Tinker AFB,
arriving for lunch with USAF Lt. Col. “Dorilynn” Gimondo in the
“Daedalian” room. After lunch, the PLAAF and PLN were given a briefing
from “Capt. (Tom) Schmidt, Commander, Airfield Operations, 72
Operational Support Squadron.”
Capt. Schmidt told the PLAAF how the U.S. Air Force deals with
“integration” of “Civil & Military Airspace.” After Capt. Schmidt’s
briefing, “CMS Sgt (Len) Dorton” then briefed the Chinese delegation on
“DOD Testing & Development of Software System for Integration &
Interoperability.”
The Chinese officers then toured the Tinker AFB control tower, and
finished with a 15 minute rest at the “Tinker AFB Officer’s Club (Via
Mil Bus)” escorted by Ms. “Nancy” Lemieux. The Chinese officers then
left Tinker to arrive in Denver, Colo. Curiously, this time the PLAAF
officers did not tour a military facility.
On May 15, 1999, United Airlines sponsored the PLAAF on “tours of
United Airlines operations control system, airport, tower, and baggage
system” at the new Denver airport. The United Airline documents were
obtained from the Clinton administration along with the U.S. Air Force
documents on the PLAAF visits to Tinker AFB and Edwards AFB.
According to a May 1999 United Airlines “Fact Sheet,” the Chinese
military delegation was pushed to remove “constraints” that were
“hampering airline operations in PRC (People’s Republic of China)
airspace.”
The United Airlines document states, “United Airlines flights
generate millions of dollars for PRC in air navigation fees paid for the
provision of air traffic control services. For example, in 1998, United
paid the PRC over three million dollars.”
“Because of difficulties complying with PRC procedures and
constraints,” states the United Airlines document, “United is unable to
operate efficiently between Chicago and Hong Kong. This could force
United to terminate this flight. The termination of this route will, in
turn, mean the loss of one million dollars per year in potential
navigation fees for the PRC.”
Both United Airlines and the PLAAF were concerned about profits
obtained from control of PRC airspace. Profits from United Airlines
commercial “navigation fees” are funneled directly into the Chinese
military, paying for air defense radars, training, missiles and new jet
fighters.
U.S. Defense officials openly warned the Clinton administration that
the Chinese air force is also a business. In 1994, the U.S. Army
defense attaché to Beijing, Lt. Col. Dennis Blasko wrote, “The major
enterprise subordinate to the PLA Air Force is the China Lantian (Blue
Sky) Industrial Corp. Also affiliated to Lantian is the Tian Ma (Sky
Horse) Brand of vehicles and vehicle repair parts and facilities. China
United Airlines (CUA) is a commercial entity of the PLA Air Force.”
Of course, the Clinton excuse here is that this is all civilian and
commercial. Yet, the PLAAF also operated illegally through its “Civil
Aviation Administration of China” (CAAC) for intelligence and military
operations.
According to the 1999 Cox report on the China scandal, “The PRC has
used at least one commercial air carrier to assist in its technology
transfer efforts. In 1996, Hong Kong Customs officials intercepted
air-to-air missile parts being shipped by CATIC aboard a commercial air
carrier, Dragonair. Dragonair is owned by China International Trade and
Investment Company (CITIC), the most powerful and visible PRC-controlled
conglomerate, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.”
Only a few months later, on May 18, Clinton officials gave the
Chinese military and Mr. Mao, “Deputy Director General CAAC,” a guided
tour of Edwards AFB. The tour including radar data, tracking systems
and details on Edwards military operations.
The handwritten notes of an unidentified FAA official shows the CAAC
and Chinese military officers were briefed by Bill Shelton from the
Defense Department and Brent Shively and Phil Strange from the FAA.
USAF Lt. Col. Bill Frank and Lt. Col. Jim Robilotta accompanied the
Chinese on their tour of Edwards, which was sponsored by Lockheed
Martin.
The amount of military information gathered by the PLAAF at Edwards
is breathtaking. According to the handwritten notes, the FAA
representative wrote that “mil uses airspace from 200 to 60,000 feet”
and “radars 7 short range 3 long range provide coverage in complex.
Lower alt short range at bottoms end — gap fillers look + down valleys
where mil likely to fly.”
“Companies ‘rent a runway’ — ie Boeing practices dangerous
maneuver,” states the handwritten notes on the USAF documents. “2
Ladkebeds used by NASA. For 29,000 + DOD asks for clearance from TRACON
— FAA clears out aircraft — after pilot thru w/mission above 29K ft —
returns. 60 mile corridor chords row planes practice straight on
‘chicken’ flying.”
The documents explain why the Clinton administration invited the
Chinese military onto U.S. Air Force bases. The answer is painfully
obvious. Money. In particular, donation money from airlines with a
vested interest in Chinese air space. According to Federal Election
Commission records, United Airlines made over a quarter million dollars
in “soft” money donations alone during the last two years.
The PLAAF air traffic control (ATC) command units control all civil
traffic inside red China. Clearly, the Clinton administration hoped the
red warlords would open their airspace to U.S. civil flights. The
PLAAF, in exchange, would obtain cash, USAF training and
state-of-the-art American electronics for their ATC officers.
Yet, according to one China defense expert, the same PLAAF ATC
officers direct the Chinese air war, sending bombers, fighters and
missiles into combat.
“The key here is vectoring aircraft over the Taiwan Straits,” stated
Bill Triplett, co-author of the runaway best seller, “The Year of the
Rat,” in a recent exclusive WorldNetDaily interview. “In every ‘are they
coming?’ analysis I’ve seen, the PLAAF’s inability to vector enough
aircraft over the Straits is always seen as crucial.”
“In other words,” concluded Triplett. “Clinton’s
military-to-military program helps bring war in the Far East just that
much closer.”
