The Threat Training Facility located at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nev., is a place where aircrew members study weaponry currently being used in the warzone. TTF curators collect vehicles and equipment from overseas and bring them to the base where members learn to identify what they are and what their capabilities entail.
Most of the items are leftover from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, where mujahideen fighters were provided with equipment and weapons to fight back.
Once a classified facility, the TTF is now open as a museum. Although it still maintains its original purpose in training aircrew members on these weapons systems, to include learning how to tell the difference between real and decoy equipment.
Decoys such as mock surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites are used to make pilots think they are in danger and deter them from the area, or cause them to waste their own ammunition destroying the “weapon” on the ground.
I’ve been to the TTF many times, and it remains interesting because new equipment is regularly brought in. And it’s always fun to show people the decoys because they look so simplistic up close.
In photographing this project, I attempted to capture as many unique angles as possible so that I didn’t post numerous straight on images. I also tried framing the shots accordingly in order to minimize the need for cropping while editing.
Personally, I enjoy looking at photos of people more than things, but I felt that this might be an interesting topic because the majority of the general public wouldn’t have access to this facility. It’s something that’s going on right in the middle of Las Vegas, that perhaps not too many people know about.
There weren’t any training classes in session on when I was shooting yesterday, and being that it was over 100 degrees, the museum was clear of visitors. My Nikon D40 and I had the place to ourselves to climb all over the equipment and try to capture the best imagery for the Flickr photo gallery.