# Aviation Technology Office

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Aviation Technology Office Active Mar. 2, 1981 (as SEASPRAY) – present Country United States Branch United States Army Type Aviation Role Clandestine special operations Part of U.S. Army Aviation Flight Test Directorate Garrison/HQ Felker Army Airfield, Fort Eustis, Virginia, United States Aircraft flown Helicopter Mil Mi-17, Bell 407, Bell 429, Beechcraft King Air, MD Helicopters MD 500

Military unit

The [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) **Aviation Technology Office** (**ATO**), known as **Flight Concepts Division** (**FCD**) before 2017,[1] is a component of the United States Army that provides discreet, sometimes clandestine helicopter aviation support primarily to [Joint Special Operations Command](/source/Joint_Special_Operations_Command).[2] Originally known as **SEASPRAY,** it was a joint [U.S. Army](/source/United_States_Army) [special operations](/source/United_States_special_operations_forces) and [CIA](/source/Central_Intelligence_Agency) clandestine aviation unit[3][4][5][6] established in 1981, and later integrated as the covered air component (E Squadron) of [Delta Force](/source/Delta_Force).[7]

The unit provides highly specialized flights for special operations forces during covert and clandestine missions, and also has a [bleeding-edge](/source/Emerging_technologies) development role, leading research in emerging technologies for Army aviation.[1] Officially part of the U.S. Army Aviation Flight Test Directorate, the unit is located at [Felker Army Airfield](/source/Felker_Army_Airfield) along the [James River](/source/James_River) on [Fort Eustis](/source/Fort_Eustis),[8] and has been described as "the best of the very best"[9] and "one of the most secretive U.S. military aviation units known to be in existence today."[10]

External images Modified Bell 407s attributed to ATO depart in formation Note the military communications arrays equipped on each.

## History

Through its various incarnations, the unit's history has been described as "intertwined" with many other covert elements of the U.S. Army including the [Intelligence Support Activity](/source/Intelligence_Support_Activity), as far back as the 1980s.[2] The U.S. Army established SEASPRAY on March 2, 1981, in conjunction with the CIA, to perform the Army's fixed-wing and rotary "covered air" mission, which involved moving personnel and materiel under civilian cover.[7] SEASPRAY, operating under the cover name "1st Rotary Wing Test Activity", originally served as the covered air counterpart to the Army's non-covered Task Force 158, which would later evolve into the [160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment](/source/160th_Special_Operations_Aviation_Regiment_(Airborne)).[7] Unlike TF 158, which served a purely military role, Seaspray was able to move CIA personnel as well as military.[7]

The [company](/source/Company_(military_unit))-sized unit was initially equipped with unmarked [Hughes 500D](/source/MD_Helicopters_MD_500) helicopters which were modified for their role, and was based at [Fort Eustis](/source/Fort_Eustis) in Virginia.[6] The unit later also acquired nine [Cessna](/source/Cessna) and [Beechcraft King Air](/source/Beechcraft_King_Air) fixed-wing aircraft.[7] In line with typical CIA practices, these helicopters and aircraft were not included in the official register of U.S. Army aircraft and were instead registered as belonging to a company called Aviation Tech Services.[5] In addition to allowing the unit to operate under civilian cover, the structuring allowed for a limitation of liability against SEASPRAY.[11]

SEASPRAY established a base at [Tampa, Florida](/source/Tampa%2C_Florida) to support its operations in Central America.[5] SEASPRAY has also been reported to have assisted the CIA to "obtain, exploit and spoof foreign aircraft and technology".[12] The existence of SEASPRAY did not become publicly known until 1985.[6] Though not initially under the control of [Joint Special Operations Command](/source/Joint_Special_Operations_Command), [Michael Smith's](/source/Michael_Smith_(newspaper_reporter)) 2011 book *Killer Elite* states that SEASPRAY was placed under the control of the [Intelligence Support Activity](/source/Intelligence_Support_Activity) (ISA) at an unspecified date and was used to covertly transport ISA, CIA, Delta Force and [SEAL Team Six](/source/SEAL_Team_Six) personnel;[13] by 1989 it had become absorbed into [Delta Force](/source/Delta_Force), becoming the unit's "E Squadron".[7]

In the 1990s, E Squadron was known to the wider military under its cover name, "Flight Concepts Division". It also had several cover and code names including "Latent Arrow".[7] By 2017, the organization's cover identity had been renamed to the Aviation Technology Office.[2][14][15]

## Activities

The activities of the ATO and its predecessor entities are highly classified; with little public information. In April 1981 a SEASPRAY helicopter flew Lebanese Christian leader [Bachir Gemayel](/source/Bachir_Gemayel) from Cairo to Lebanon as the first stage of a trip to the United States.[6] From 1982 until 1985 SEASPRAY fixed-wing aircraft conducted [signals intelligence](/source/Signals_intelligence) sorties over [Honduras](/source/Honduras).[16] In the early 1980s the Army rejected a proposal from the CIA that SEASPRAY aircraft be used to follow small aircraft which were potentially being used to smuggle weapons from [Nicaragua](/source/Nicaragua) to [El Salvador](/source/El_Salvador). The CIA conducted this operation using civilian aircrews instead.[16]

Flight Concepts Division was believed to have provided two modified Little Bird helicopters during the [Battle of Mogadishu.](/source/Battle_of_Mogadishu_(1993))[17] The unit also reportedly led the development of the [stealth variant](/source/Stealth_helicopter) of the [Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk](/source/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk) helicopter used in [the raid](/source/Killing_of_Osama_bin_Laden) on [Osama Bin Laden's compound](/source/Osama_bin_Laden's_compound_in_Abbottabad) in [Abbottabad, Pakistan](/source/Abbottabad).[10]

In December 2001, Russian authorities arrested a group of contractors reportedly working for the Flight Concepts Division in the city of Petropavlovsk, where they were allegedly trying to surreptitiously buy Mi-17 transport helicopters for operations in Afghanistan.[18][2]

## Aircraft

Aircraft reportedly flown by the unit by country of origin:

- [Russia](/source/Russia) - [Mil Mi-17](/source/Mil_Mi-17)[10]

- [United States](/source/United_States) - [Bell 407](/source/Bell_407)[10][19]

- [United States](/source/United_States) - [Beechcraft King Air](/source/Beechcraft_King_Air)[20]

- [United States](/source/United_States) - [MD Helicopters MD 500](/source/MD_Helicopters_MD_500)[20]

## See also

- [Scott A. Howell](/source/Scott_A._Howell)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Trevithick, Joseph (23 February 2021). ["Photo Emerges of Shadowy Intelligence Gathering "Ghost Plane" In Somalia"](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39400/photo-emerges-of-shadowy-intelligence-gathering-ghost-plane-in-somalia). *The War Zone*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210223233410/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39400/photo-emerges-of-shadowy-intelligence-gathering-ghost-plane-in-somalia) from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:4_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:4_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:4_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:4_2-3) Trevithick, Joseph (21 March 2017). ["Shedding Some Light on the Pentagon's Most Shadowy Aviation Units"](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/8125/shedding-some-light-on-the-pentagons-most-shadowy-aviation-units). *The War Zone*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170323194452/http://www.thedrive.com:80/the-war-zone/8125/shedding-some-light-on-the-pentagons-most-shadowy-aviation-units) from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Bamford, James (3 July 1988). ["Where Secret Armies Clash By Night"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160911110654/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1266003.html). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1266003.html) on 11 September 2016. Next was Seaspray, a joint Army/CIA aviation unit that specialized in deep penetrations with specially rigged helicopters.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Weiner, Tim (10 February 1987). ["Covert Forces Multiply, Some Run Amok"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150214050942/http://articles.philly.com/1987-02-10/news/26179065_1_covert-action-covert-operations-black-budget). Philly.com. Archived from [the original](http://articles.philly.com/1987-02-10/news/26179065_1_covert-action-covert-operations-black-budget) on 14 February 2015. And, they said, there were similar problems in a Special Operations unit code-named Seaspray, which flew aerial reconnaissance missions in Central America for the CIA and the National Security Agency.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Paglen20092_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Paglen20092_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Paglen20092_5-2) Paglen, Trevor (5 February 2009). [*Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World*](https://books.google.com/books?id=oM8u2198DcsC&pg=PT162). Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 162–. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-101-01149-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-101-01149-2).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hersh_NYT_19872_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hersh_NYT_19872_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Hersh_NYT_19872_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Hersh_NYT_19872_6-3) Hersh, Seymour M. (22 November 1987). ["Who's In Charge Here?"](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/22/magazine/who-s-in-charge-here.html?pagewanted=all). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. In March 1981, Longhofer's unit went operational. The Army and the C.I.A. agreed to set up a special aviation company, called Seaspray.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:02_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:02_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:02_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:02_7-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:02_7-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:02_7-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:02_7-6) Naylor, Sean (1 September 2015). [*Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command*](https://books.google.com/books?id=oWiWBgAAQBAJ). St. Martin's Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781466876224](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781466876224).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Colonel Ball"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130228141827/http://www.usarpac.army.mil/history2/cosBall.asp). U.S. Army Pacific. Archived from [the original](https://www.usarpac.army.mil/history2/cosBall.asp) on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_9-0)** D'Costa, Ian (19 March 2021). ["This is the Army's super secret special ops aviation unit"](https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-tactical/160th-super-secret-special-ops-aviation-unit/). *We Are The Mighty*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210418014639/https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-tactical/160th-super-secret-special-ops-aviation-unit/) from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_10-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_10-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:2_10-3) Trevithick, Joseph (18 September 2021). ["Russian-Made Mi-17 Helicopter Flown by Secretive U.S. Unit Lands in Farmer's Field"](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42409/russian-made-mi-17-helicopter-flown-by-secretive-u-s-group-lands-in-farmers-field). *The War Zone*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210918061001/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42409/russian-made-mi-17-helicopter-flown-by-secretive-u-s-group-lands-in-farmers-field) from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Trevithick, Joseph (14 August 2018). ["This Ghost Of A Helicopter Likely Had A Secret Role In Reagan's 'Tear Down This Wall' Speech"](https://www.twz.com/22879/this-ghost-of-a-helicopter-likely-had-a-secret-role-in-reagans-tear-down-this-wall-speech). *The War Zone*. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Ambinder, Marc; Grady, D.B. (2012). [*The Command deep Inside the President's Secret Army*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2bZps0gflR8C&q=SEASPRAY&pg=PT30). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1118346723](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1118346723).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Killer_Elite_13-0)** Smith, Michael (2011). [*Killer Elite: America's Most Secret Soldiers*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ylIUalax_CQC&q=Flight+concepts+division&pg=PA1933). London: Hachette. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1908059062](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1908059062).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Photo Emerges Of Shadowy Intelligence Gathering "Ghost Plane" In Somalia"](https://www.somtribune.com/2021/02/24/photo-emerges-of-shadowy-intelligence-gathering-ghost-plane-in-somalia/). *SomTribune*. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Trevithick, Joseph (17 September 2021). ["Russian-Made Mi-17 Helicopter Flown By Secretive U.S. Unit Lands In Farmer's Field"](https://www.twz.com/42409/russian-made-mi-17-helicopter-flown-by-secretive-u-s-group-lands-in-farmers-field). *The War Zone*. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LeoGrande_16-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LeoGrande_16-1) [LeoGrande, William M.](/source/William_M._LeoGrande) (1998). *Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992*. Chapel Hill, North Carolina Press: University of North Carolina Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0807898805](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0807898805).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Trevithick, Joseph (23 May 2019). ["These Secret Helicopters Were Flown By A Shadowy Unit During The Battle of Mogadishu"](https://www.twz.com/28177/these-secret-helicopters-were-flown-by-a-shadowy-unit-during-the-battle-of-mogadishu). *The War Zone*. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["THE CIA, SIBERIA AND THE $5M BAR BILL"](https://nypost.com/2009/08/16/the-cia-siberia-and-the-5m-bar-bill/). 16 August 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Bells in the Shadow, Part One"](https://engelsjk.com/posts/bells-in-the-shadow-part-one/). *engelsjk.com*. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ATO_Aircraft_20-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ATO_Aircraft_20-1) ["ATO Aircraft"](https://earth.google.com). *Google Earth*. 37°08'06"N 76°36'19"W: Google LLC. Retrieved 26 March 2025.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: location ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location))

## Further reading

- [Steven Emerson](/source/Steven_Emerson), *Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era*, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1988. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-399-13360-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-399-13360-7)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aviation Technology Office](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_Technology_Office) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_Technology_Office?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.