From The Archives: B-52 Nuclear Blast Test

U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52G is rolled onto USAF's newly completed electromagnetic pulse (EMP) simulator facility for operational checkouts leading to simulation of EMP threat levels and inflight effects on the aircraft and electric equipment (AW&ST Jan, 29, 1979).  

The facility, called Trestle, is an all wood structure 12 stories high built by Allen M Campbell of Tyler, Tex,. at Kirtland AFB, Arizona, site of Air Force Systems Command Weapons Laboratory. Energy wave created by high-altitude nuclear explosion radiates hundreds of miles in all directions and Trestle will simulate this by two 5-million-volt pulsers discharging energy into transmission lines surrounding the aircraft 

See the cover image from the March 3, 1980 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology. 

Feature - USAF Weapons Lab Mission Expanded (AW&ST Jan, 29, 1979).  

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