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Photobombed by an F-18

An F-18 photobombs campers in Death Valley National Park Tuesday morning. The first one which passes by gets your attention, the second one comes at you from behind at close to the speed of sound, so you won't hear it coming!

#DVNP #deathvalley #camping #desertphotography
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29 thoughts on “Photobombed by an F-18”

  1. The military is starting to use the national parks as weapons test sites. They are testing electronic warfare devices in Olympic National Park without regard to the negative effects on wildlife.

  2. Thanks Jeff, this is awesome. Would you allow me to use this with attribution in a compilation video I"ll be putting together of our trip? I didn't get a clear video of the jets but the soundtrack came in loud and clear…emphasis on the loud.

  3. +Stephen Cantrel The diversion and sneak attack tactic can save the pilots' lives in Afghanistan or Iraq (or Syria, Yemen, or whatever place the U.S. is not in a declared war this week). Of course once you've seen them do it a couple of times, you know to have your camera in hand and look for that second plane.

  4. +Clinton Ferrara Apparently the nearby China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station was using this air space before Death Valley National Park was expanded to its current size, so retaining use of Panamint Valley, Saline Valley and Eureka Valley was included in the agreement to expand the park. No doubt the desert bighorn sheep don't know what to make of it.

  5. +Andrew Wisler That would be interesting, especially since the military jets don't seem to be required to use standard aircraft navigational lights when flying at night.
    The "R-2508 Airspace Complex" runs 140 miles north to south, from Bishop to Edwards Air Force Base, and 110 miles east to west, from the Nevada State line to Tehachapi, but most of the encounters I've had with low-flying aircraft have been in DVNP.

  6. +Clinton Ferrara I think that both are still in use. Earlier this year I camped near Amboy Crater in the Mojave Desert, just north of the Marine Base out of Twentynine Palms. They were running some kind of artillery practice or war games on the base all night, the thuds and booms coming from just over the range to the south and west of where I was camping. On China Lake you can book a trip to the Coso petroglyphs through the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, but they're pretty careful about security. The tour is for U.S. citizens only, and I hear that they make you keep all cameras put away until you reach the petroglyphs.

  7. +Jeff Sullivan I only went to Death Valley once way back in the 70's. Fascinating place. All my other looks at that part of the world were B&W aerial photos. I did drive rt 66 from LA to Shreveport in 1969. The Mojave at night.
    I enjoy all your great photos and stories from that part of the world.

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