Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of stuff out in the desert that I would categorize as Air Force trash. By that, I mean things that have been discarded by the US Air Force or that were used for the purpose of target practice or training. The military never goes back and cleans up after themselves by removing these items, probably because they control the land within these military ranges and figure no civilians will ever set foot there. Granted, there are certain areas where the public is allowed to go on these ranges, but one must sign a hold-harmless agreement in advance which absolves the military from any harm that might come to an individual if they are hurt or die from things like unexploded ordnance. Nevertheless, since it is all used stuff just left out there to rust for all eternity, I call it trash. I’ve seen a lot of such militaria while climbing out on these bombing ranges and the purpose of this piece is to share it with you. So buckle up and come along for the ride. This piece will be more of a photo essay than anything else.
For starters, how about these 3 pictures of a crashed drone.
Part of a drone
Drone parts
More drone
I will not mention the exact locations of this stuff so as not to incriminate myself too badly.
Remnants of a large bomb
Here’s a picture of a 50-calible machine-gun bullet. It’s big – that’s a one-liter bottle beside it.
That’s one big bullet
Here’s a mystery object lying on the ground as seen from higher on a mountain. That looks like a parachute may have been a part of it.
Mystery object
This old jet looks like it was used for target practice.
The old jet
Who know what this piece of junk is? It’s about 8 feet long.
Mock aircraft – planes fly over and shoot at these for target practice.
This beautiful old tank is shot full of holes, used as a target by jets flying past.
These are wooden mock-ups of real tanks, about the same size and shape, used for aerial target practice.
This one didn’t explode.
This one didn’t explode either – it’s amazing how deeply these can embed themselves into the hard desert soil.
Thousands of rounds of spent ammunition. Why they were all lying here is a mystery.
A bomb that drifted in on a parachute
Just layin’ under a cactus.
A small one.
Part of an oxygen mask – it was just lying out on the desert floor, far from anything else. Perhaps it fell from a plane.
This next photo shows a truck in front parked on a road. Behind it we see a man inspecting another vehicle which is used for aerial target practice.
The 2 trucks.
A mock airplane. There are 12 fuel barrels, each 55-gallon-size, attached in a line to create the fuselage.
The mock jet, used for target practice.
The metal housing of this bomb is over an inch thick.
What force!
The mock jet seen from up on a nearby mountainside.
Even with the aid of a parachute, this one embedded deeply into the ground
Another mock airplane used for target practice
This is what happens when a 40-foot shipping container is used for target practice. No match for the guns of an A-10.
A metal ammo box found on a hillside.
One of my favorite pictures. A large bomb has just been dropped from a jet. Although it was still 3 miles away, you could feel the concussion in your chest.
Another one that never exploded.
A hard impact
What is this? Probably a type of flare.
This is what’s left of a tow dart, rotting away out in the Tule Desert. One aircraft tows this behind itself while another aircraft shoots at it for target practice. They haven’t been used here for decades.
This tank is parked on the US Marine Corps part of the bombing range. It looks pretty nice – maybe it’s just the paint job. It must have been out-of-date, or no longer working. There were 3 of them at this spot.
Safe to pick up? Mmmm, not me!
One of those tow darts, but in better condition. They are often found nose-down, embedded in the ground.
This is a parachute flare, or what’s left of one. The metal cylinder lower left was much longer, but it gets burnt up. The flare is dropped at night from a high-flying plane, then floats gently down under the parachute. It burns with an intense orange light, visible for several minutes as it descends.
It may be small, but you still don’t want to mess with it.
I have no idea what this was.
Unknown object.
Another big one.
Used for target practice. Planes fly by and shoot at it.
Another target
Mystery target
What is that thing?
Another target
Can you imagine having one of these parked in your front yard – what a souvenir!
This thing was small – the camera case is only 4 inches long.
What a beauty!
Curious.
Embedded into a rocky hillside.
I don’t know what this thing is, but they were common enough.
Nice-looking vehicle, parked with several others, out in the middle of nowhere. Not all shot full of holes, so it appears not used for target practice.
Bombs exploding at a mock village. They have just been dropped from jet aircraft.
That’s it, Folks – just a random assortment of the stuff out there on the bombing range. I always treat it with respect and give it a wide berth. I hope you enjoyed the tour.