Visit to the Threat Training Facility “Petting Zoo”

Visit to the Threat Training Facility “Petting Zoo” at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

By Mike Blohm

This one is for both the Armor and Aircraft Guys

This trip report is on a visit to the Threat Training Facility (TTF) affectionately known as the “Petting Zoo” located at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in January 2025. This report compliments the presentation that I gave at the June 6, 2025 ASM meeting. The facility is run by the 547th Intelligence Squadron assigned under the 365th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group (ISRG). In an article about their upcoming move back in 2020 to their current facility, the 547th Intelligence Squadron Commander stated: “The purpose of the TTF is to educate and train warfighters through a blend of physical and virtual instructional methodologies. Seeing these real weapons systems up close offers unique opportunities to understand how they might be used by an adversary in combat.”

I could not run down any information on when the Zoo was initially started, but portions of it were in place during my first “Red Flag” at Nellis in 1976, with a lot of equipment captured during the Viet Nam conflict. It was likely part of the “train like you fight” initiative back in the late 1970’s when Red Flag was created. More equipment has been added over the years from the various conflicts that have occurred. There were also a lot of “fakes” (mock-ups) built based upon best known intelligence for aircrew familiarization of the newest threat systems. A lot of the “old” equipment is still in use and still lethal if not accounted for.

The Zoo is located at the south end of Nellis near the Red Flag building so that the aircrews and maintainers attending a Red Flag can get training on the threat systems when they are not actively flying missions. There has been an outside display of armor, vehicles, and surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems surrounded by a wall; and an inside building and hangar section that was at the secret level. That inside portion was declassified at some point and made open to visitors. The Zoo made a move in 2020 to a new set of buildings and a new enclosed outside area. This report has pictures from both the new and a few from the old facility from a visit that I made in May 2017. I have not yet visited the main building of the new facility so I cannot report of whether that is open to the public or what vehicles and systems might be inside. Hope to check that out during another visit. Not all of the items on display prior to the 2020 move have made the trip to the new site. A lot of armored vehicles are no longer on display after the move.

When I was an instructor at the USAF F-4 Fighter Weapons School (the Air Force’s “Top Gun” school)–two patches at top right on the intro picture–a visit down the street to the Zoo capped-off a two-week long course that we taught on the threats and the ways that the F-4 Phantom II could counter them. So, I got to do a lot of hands-on several times a year with the students and the Zoo animals. As I mentioned in my presentation, I almost got a bite from the ZSU-23-4’s top turret hatch when a student knocked-into that and it slammed closed right next to where I was sitting. Taking a spin in the gunner’s seat of the AAA pieces was also a must-do to see how easy (and scary) it was to track the fighters zooming around in the base pattern. Sitting in a threat aircraft’s cockpit was also a must for a lot of obvious reasons. I try to revisit the facility when I make trips to Las Vegas to see what new has been added. Recent additions have been a lot of air-to-air missiles and their pieces-parts.

Notes on my “tour of the Zoo” pictures: I have grouped the pics into categories based upon their role. The items on display at the Zoo are not always presented that way. Some are grouped together by roles and some are not. I have embedded the name of the aircraft, vehicle, or system into the first pic of multiple pics of that item. The file names also include the name of the item. Unfortunately, there were few signs posted on the display pieces. A lot of the equipment looks to be under repair or renovation or waiting to be reassembled after the move. Some of the SAM systems have both real and mock-up missiles loaded on the launch rails, transporter-erector launchers (TEL), or transport trailers/trucks. The mock-up fake ones normally have a solid end to the nozzle and are a bit different color. The MiG-29 and MiG-23 used to be inside the old (pre-move) hangar building and are now outside baking-away in the sun. The MiG-29 canopy is open, so the ejection seat is getting fried. I have included pics of the MiG-23 and MiG-29 both inside and outside with some interesting characters in the cockpits. In the spirit of things, I have also included a pic of a MiG-21 driver at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa – a close-by must-see visit. The aircraft that looks like a MiG-27 is a Flogger F, an early air-to-ground version of the MiG-23. Pics of the items in the 2020 display that did not make the move are also included below. “Fakes/mock-ups” in my 2017 pics include the 2S6, SA-10, SA-11, SA-12 and probably the SS-21. I have also included some aerial view pics of the old and new outside displays for comparison to show what was moved or not.

The first intro slide pic shows the patches of the 547th Intel Squadron, 365th ISRG, and other units at Nellis AFB involved with the Zoo. The top far right patches are the USAF Fighter Weapons School and the F-4 Division that I was assigned to for three years. I am proud to say that I designed the F-4 Division patch (helped by my plastic modeling skills) that prominently depicts the F-4 Phantom “Spook” superimposed over an F-4E and then the bullseye target of the 57th Wing patch, and the checkered yellow and black tail fin markings of our aircraft. This superimposing style became the template used by the other Fighter Weapons School divisions that subsequently produced their own patches.

During the presentation I proposed having a sponsored contest sometime in 2026 called “At the Zoo” that would include any item that is displayed at the Zoo. It sounded like that would be popular, so we will see what the E-Board decides to do. Systems in either the 2020 pics or the 2025 pics are eligible. There were several non-Soviet threat systems at the Zoo, so it includes those, too (I-HAWK, Roland, Rapier, and Chapparal). Entries do not need to be in the marking of those at the Zoo. You can check with me if you have any questions.