Originally Posted by
Ewan Whosearmy
I am deliberately not mentioning specifics. But the indications are there if you're looking in the right places.
First example: pilots from a particular community 'disappear' for months at a time. When they come back, they're unable to say where they have been or what they have been doing - i.e. they don't even bother with a cover story. In this particular case, the suspicion is that they are rotating in and out of TDYs to fly an optionally-manned platform. This may well be it:
https://theaviationist.com/2014/03/2...over-amarillo/
Second example: I am aware of recruitment into a black programme that is operational in nature and favours those who have been assigned to a small set of specific white world squadrons (i.e. these particular squadrons act as clearing houses into the programme). Recruitment into this programme has been active for a decade or more and these aircrew use cover stories.
Ewan,
It would not surprise me regarding your first statement that the particular unit would have some chase trainer such as the one I saw at J-B Andrews Air & Space Expo 2019 (my pic below). And perhaps at a wild-lottery-guess- the aircrews from said below unit potentially have the required skills to fill the prerequisites.
Secondly (no pun intended) with your second scenario, it begs the question if such a platform has existed for a decade, what are the chances it could be unveiled to the wider aviation community and general public in the next couple of years?
Cheers