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Top Secret

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  • Jake Ward with the X47-A UAV. It's built mostly using composite materials and measures 27.9 feet long with a wingspan of 27.8 feet. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5C engine providing 3,200 pounds of thrust. It is an unmanned vehicle.
  • Jake Ward discusses the black budget with journalist Steve Stephen Trimble and learns how much money the United States allocates to
  • Jake Ward and aerospace archeologist Peter Merlin check out a map of the area to compare to the accident report and crash site photos of the X-10 drone crash site they're hunting for.
  • Jake Ward gets a call from a source outside of Air Force Plant 42's local watering hole, A Wing and a Prayer.
  • Jake Ward is in Palmdale, California to investigate Air Force Plant 42, where top secret planes, drones, and military projects are designed and built before they're shipped off for testing at Edwards Air Force Base or Area 51.
  • Welcome to Palmdale sign. Palmdale is home to Air Force Plant 42.
  • Jake Ward and X-Hunter Peter Merlin at the crash site of an X-10 drone
  • Jake Ward and Tim Hughes, who oversees Air Force Plant 42, walking on the runway inside the fence.
  • Jake Ward walks the fence outside of Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale.
  • Jake Ward and Tim Hughes, who oversees Air Force Plant 42, head into the base.
  • Jake Ward walking to meet David Mazur, the Vice President and IPT leader of the B-2 program, which is based out of Air Force Plant 42.
  • Jake Ward and David Mazur, the Vice President and IPT leader of the B-2 program, outside of the B-2 hangar. Even though the plane is over two decades old, many parts of it are still classified. The closest Jake could get was 25 feet away, and no photography is allowed of the back of the aircraft.
  • Tim Hughes takes Jake Ward towards the control tower that approves and monitors all flight activity at Air Force Plant 42.
  • Jake Ward ascending the stairs up to the Air Force Plant 42 control tower.
  • Jake Ward and journalist Stephen Trimble discuss black budget military programs at the Tidal Basin in DC. This year's black budget request was approximately $60 billion dollars. All that money goes to mystery programs.
  • At Wing and a Prayer, Jake Ward strikes up a conversation with local resident Kathy McKean. She claims she once saw the mysterious Aurora plane passing overhead her house.
  • Jake Ward meets with journalist Bill Sweetman in Washington, DC. Sweetman has dedicated years of his life investigating the Aurora, a hypersonic plane allegedly built in the black world.

  • Unmanned Plane

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward with the X47-A UAV. It's built mostly using composite materials and measures 27.9 feet long with a wingspan of 27.8 feet. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5C engine providing 3,200 pounds of thrust. It is an unmanned vehicle.

  • In the Dark

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward discusses the black budget with journalist Steve Stephen Trimble and learns how much money the United States allocates to "black" or classified military projects that remain undisclosed to the public - or sometime even the President.

  • Drone Zone Hunt

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward and aerospace archeologist Peter Merlin check out a map of the area to compare to the accident report and crash site photos of the X-10 drone crash site they're hunting for.

  • The Bar Scene

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward gets a call from a source outside of Air Force Plant 42's local watering hole, A Wing and a Prayer.

  • Secret Projects

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward is in Palmdale, California to investigate Air Force Plant 42, where top secret planes, drones, and military projects are designed and built before they're shipped off for testing at Edwards Air Force Base or Area 51.

  • California Days

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Welcome to Palmdale sign. Palmdale is home to Air Force Plant 42.

  • Former Crash Site

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward and X-Hunter Peter Merlin at the crash site of an X-10 drone

  • Wide Open Spaces

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward and Tim Hughes, who oversees Air Force Plant 42, walking on the runway inside the fence.

  • Fenced Out

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward walks the fence outside of Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale.

  • Head of the Plant

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward and Tim Hughes, who oversees Air Force Plant 42, head into the base.

  • Open Meeting

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward walking to meet David Mazur, the Vice President and IPT leader of the B-2 program, which is based out of Air Force Plant 42.

  • Classified Equipment

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward and David Mazur, the Vice President and IPT leader of the B-2 program, outside of the B-2 hangar. Even though the plane is over two decades old, many parts of it are still classified. The closest Jake could get was 25 feet away, and no photography is allowed of the back of the aircraft.

  • Flight Plans

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Tim Hughes takes Jake Ward towards the control tower that approves and monitors all flight activity at Air Force Plant 42.

  • Staircase Labyrinth

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward ascending the stairs up to the Air Force Plant 42 control tower.

  • Mystery Funds

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward and journalist Stephen Trimble discuss black budget military programs at the Tidal Basin in DC. This year's black budget request was approximately $60 billion dollars. All that money goes to mystery programs.

  • Local Stories

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    At Wing and a Prayer, Jake Ward strikes up a conversation with local resident Kathy McKean. She claims she once saw the mysterious Aurora plane passing overhead her house.

  • DC Meeting

    Photograph by National Geographic Television

    Jake Ward meets with journalist Bill Sweetman in Washington, DC. Sweetman has dedicated years of his life investigating the Aurora, a hypersonic plane allegedly built in the black world.
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