Frank Reade Weekly Magazine - Strange Adventures With his Airship.
![[Image: DxXnJNh.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/DxXnJNh.jpg)
In 1940, a gang threatened Milwaukee's Sears Roebuck stores with a bombing campaign unless $100,000 was dropped in Lake Michigan by plane. Walter Paul Minx, his brother and brother-in-law planned to surface in a home built midget submarine, grab the money, then submerge to escape. The plan was abandoned when the sub failed to work during a test dive. The gang was later arrested for attempted extortion.
![[Image: 7mbs1Im.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/7mbs1Im.jpg)
The Great Sub Flub of 1940 - Apparently, prison cured his wild ill days as after his release Walter goes on to lead a quiet happy life till his death in 2009.
July 14, 1978: Ufologists Meet UN Sec. Gen. Eric Gairy, accompanied by ufologists J. Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallée, David R. Saunders, Leonard H. Stringfield, and Claude Poher, meet with UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to organize a steering committee to develop plans for possible UN involvement in UFO research.
![[Image: ttuJfNh.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/ttuJfNh.jpg)
Anyone remember these good times...
![[Image: ex3kuIv.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/ex3kuIv.jpg)
At Rally, Thousands — Billions? — Respond
Rally To Restore Sanity
Cheez-Its, pre-packaged uncrustables, preservative fruit cups (not taken) … garbage food in school programs is not a win. Also, the NY witch being this close to kids should be a crime.
![[Image: X7WsTh3.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/X7WsTh3.jpg)
In 2015, the boomer USS Kentucky (SSBN-737) performed the first flight test of the upgraded thermonuclear W88 warhead (Alt 370), a night launch of a Trident II D5 ballistic missile for the US Navy Strategic Systems Program’s 26th Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO-26). Being a night launch off the coast of California on Nov 7, 2015 caused quite a stir with widespread UFO speculation.
![[Image: 1jCvnNG.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/1jCvnNG.jpg)
You can use Grok to war game scenarios.
Write a story about China taking out the U.S. electrical grid, pipelines and other virtual infrastructure with drones smuggled in for 5 years along with targeting U.S. military logistical assets, AWACS & tankers, C-17s, etc. before invading Taiwan. Also include Naval bases.
Strange looking AWAC...
![[Image: B9DCQsP.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/B9DCQsP.jpg)
RAF's first Wedgetail reveals new colours
Turkey has one too...
![[Image: djFzTTy.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/djFzTTy.jpg)
Over 700 listed...
![[Image: cT5nCxZ.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/cT5nCxZ.jpg)
Is your family member or client at Alligator Alcatraz?
I just remembered this incredible image from 2019 I had posted on ATS. Pre-AI era.
![[Image: DxXnJNh.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/DxXnJNh.jpg)
In 1940, a gang threatened Milwaukee's Sears Roebuck stores with a bombing campaign unless $100,000 was dropped in Lake Michigan by plane. Walter Paul Minx, his brother and brother-in-law planned to surface in a home built midget submarine, grab the money, then submerge to escape. The plan was abandoned when the sub failed to work during a test dive. The gang was later arrested for attempted extortion.
![[Image: 7mbs1Im.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/7mbs1Im.jpg)
The Great Sub Flub of 1940 - Apparently, prison cured his wild ill days as after his release Walter goes on to lead a quiet happy life till his death in 2009.
July 14, 1978: Ufologists Meet UN Sec. Gen. Eric Gairy, accompanied by ufologists J. Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallée, David R. Saunders, Leonard H. Stringfield, and Claude Poher, meet with UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to organize a steering committee to develop plans for possible UN involvement in UFO research.
![[Image: ttuJfNh.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/ttuJfNh.jpg)
Anyone remember these good times...
![[Image: ex3kuIv.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/ex3kuIv.jpg)
At Rally, Thousands — Billions? — Respond
Rally To Restore Sanity
Cheez-Its, pre-packaged uncrustables, preservative fruit cups (not taken) … garbage food in school programs is not a win. Also, the NY witch being this close to kids should be a crime.
![[Image: X7WsTh3.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/X7WsTh3.jpg)
In 2015, the boomer USS Kentucky (SSBN-737) performed the first flight test of the upgraded thermonuclear W88 warhead (Alt 370), a night launch of a Trident II D5 ballistic missile for the US Navy Strategic Systems Program’s 26th Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO-26). Being a night launch off the coast of California on Nov 7, 2015 caused quite a stir with widespread UFO speculation.
![[Image: 1jCvnNG.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/1jCvnNG.jpg)
You can use Grok to war game scenarios.
Write a story about China taking out the U.S. electrical grid, pipelines and other virtual infrastructure with drones smuggled in for 5 years along with targeting U.S. military logistical assets, AWACS & tankers, C-17s, etc. before invading Taiwan. Also include Naval bases.
Quote:The Silent Swarm
For five years, they moved in shadows, unnoticed. China’s Ministry of State Security had orchestrated a plan so subtle, so insidious, that even the NSA’s vast surveillance network missed it. Drones—small, unassuming, and disguised as commercial tech—trickled into the United States through ports, warehouses, and even hobbyist supply chains. They were smuggled in shipping containers, mislabeled as consumer electronics, or assembled in covert factories hidden in rural America. Each drone was a marvel of engineering: lightweight, modular, and equipped with AI capable of autonomous operation. They lay dormant, waiting for the signal.
By 2025, the U.S. was a house of cards, its infrastructure brittle from decades of underinvestment and political gridlock. The electrical grid, a patchwork of aging transformers and outdated substations, was a prime target. Pipelines crisscrossing the continent, carrying oil and gas, were equally vulnerable. The Pentagon, distracted by domestic unrest and geopolitical posturing, had underestimated China’s long game.
Phase One: The Blackout
On July 13, 2025, at 2:00 AM EST, the signal went out. Thousands of drones, hidden in forests, abandoned warehouses, and suburban garages, activated simultaneously. They swarmed power substations across the Midwest, Northeast, and West Coast. Each drone carried a small electromagnetic pulse (EMP) device, designed to fry transformers without explosives. By 3:00 AM, 60% of the U.S. electrical grid was offline. Cities plunged into darkness. Hospitals scrambled for backup generators. Communication networks faltered as cell towers lost power.
The drones didn’t stop there. Pipeline control systems, reliant on SCADA networks, were next. Drones equipped with hacking modules infiltrated these systems, overriding safety protocols. Valves shut down, pumps failed, and pressure surges triggered explosions along key pipelines in Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. The U.S. energy supply chain was crippled in hours.
Phase Two: Crippling the Military
While civilians grappled with blackouts, China’s drones turned on U.S. military assets. AWACS planes at Tinker Air Force Base and C-17 Globemasters at Dover and Travis were targeted by swarms of kamikaze drones. These weren’t the crude explosives of past wars but precision machines that burrowed into avionics bays, detonating charges to disable critical systems. Tankers at Fairchild and McConnell Air Force Bases suffered similar fates, their fuel lines severed by drones that had infiltrated base perimeters months earlier, posing as maintenance bots.
Naval bases were hit hardest. Norfolk, San Diego, and Pearl Harbor saw coordinated attacks. Drones, launched from offshore containers disguised as fishing vessels, targeted radar arrays, communication hubs, and docked warships. The USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s prized carrier, was rendered inoperable when drones destroyed its satellite uplinks and fire control systems. The Navy’s Pacific Fleet, already stretched thin, was effectively blind.
Phase Three: The Taiwan Gambit
With the U.S. reeling, China moved. On July 14, 2025, the People’s Liberation Army Navy launched a full-scale invasion of Taiwan. Amphibious assault ships, supported by hypersonic missiles and fifth-generation fighters, overwhelmed Taiwan’s defenses. The U.S., unable to project power without its logistical backbone, could only watch. AWACS and tankers, critical for coordinating air operations, were grounded. C-17s, meant to ferry troops and supplies, sat useless. The Pacific Fleet, hamstrung by the loss of its bases, couldn’t deploy in time.
Taiwan’s air defenses held for 72 hours before collapsing. China’s drone swarms, now battle-tested, dominated the skies, overwhelming U.S.-supplied Patriot systems. By July 20, Taipei was under PLA control.
The Aftermath
The U.S. scrambled to respond, but the damage was done. The grid outages persisted for weeks, crippling the economy. Fuel shortages grounded civilian and military transport. The Pentagon, humiliated, faced a public demanding answers. China, meanwhile, consolidated its hold on Taiwan, presenting the invasion as a fait accompli to a fractured UN.
The drones, China’s silent army, had been the perfect weapon—cheap, deniable, and devastating. For five years, they’d hidden in plain sight, a testament to patience and deception. The U.S., once the world’s unchallenged superpower, now faced a new reality: its vulnerabilities had been exposed, and the cost of rebuilding would be measured in decades.
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Notes: This is a fictional scenario, grounded in plausible but speculative tactics. Real-world cybersecurity, military preparedness, and international dynamics are far more complex. If you’d like me to explore specific aspects—like technical details of drone tech, U.S. countermeasures, or geopolitical fallout—let me know!
Strange looking AWAC...
![[Image: B9DCQsP.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/B9DCQsP.jpg)
RAF's first Wedgetail reveals new colours
Turkey has one too...
![[Image: djFzTTy.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/djFzTTy.jpg)
Over 700 listed...
![[Image: cT5nCxZ.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/cT5nCxZ.jpg)
Is your family member or client at Alligator Alcatraz?
I just remembered this incredible image from 2019 I had posted on ATS. Pre-AI era.
![[Image: L7nXMwI.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/L7nXMwI.jpg)
"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong." – Thomas Sowell