Nexus - 0605 - New Times Magazine-pages

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radio transmissions. The downlink stations that control the opera- tions and targeting of these satellites are under the exclusive con- trol of the United States, despite their location on foreign military bases. The two primary downlink facilities are at Menwith Hill, England, and Pine Gap, central Australia. radio transmissions. The downlink stations that control the opera- information is then forwarded to the Menwith Hill computer sys- tions and targeting of these satellites are under the exclusive con- tems for processing. RUNWAY may have recently been replaced trol of the United States, despite their location on foreign military or complemented by another system, RUTLEY. bases. The two primary downlink facilities are at Menwith Hill, PUSHER - This is an HFDF system that covers the HF fre- England, and Pine Gap, central Australia. quency range between 3 MHz and 30 MHz—radio transmissions from CB radios, walkie-talkies and other radio devices. Military, THE MENWITH HILL FACILITY embassy, maritime and air flight communications are the main The Menwith Hill facility is located in North Yorkshire, targets of PUSHER. England, near Harrogate. The important role that Menwith Hill MOONPENNY - Uncovered by British journalist Duncan plays in the ECHELON system was recognised by the recent Campbell in the 1980s, this system is targeted at the communica- European Parliament STOA report: tion relay satellites belonging to other countries, as well as the Within Europe, all e-mail, telephone and fax communications satellites over the Atlantic and Indian oceans. are routinely intercepted by the United States National KNOBSTICKS I and II - The purpose of these antennae Security Agency, transferring all target information from the arrays is unknown, but they probably target military and diplo- European mainland via the strategic hub of London, then by matic traffic throughout Europe. satellite to Fort Meade in Maryland via the crucial hub at GT-6 — A new system installed at the end of 1996, GT-6 is Menwith Hill in the North Yorks Moors of the UK." believed to be the receiver for the third generation of geosynchro- nous satellites termed Advanced Orion or Advanced Vortex. A The existence and importance of the facility was first brought to new polar orbit satellite called Advanced Jumpseat may be moni- light by British journalist/researcher Duncan Campbell in 1980." tored from here as well. Today, it is the largest spy station in the world, with over 25 satel- STEEPLEBUSH II - An expansion of the 1984 STEEPLE- lite receiving stations and 1,400 American NSA personnel work- BUSH system, this computer system processes information col- ing with 350 UK Ministry of Defence staff on site. lected from the RUNWAY receivers that gather traffic from the After revelations that the facility Vortex satellites. coordinates surveillance for the vast SILKWORTH - Constructed by majority of the European continent, | | at least three major DOMESTIC Lockheed Corporation, the main the base has become a target for regu- | ,, . . computer system for Menwith Hill lar protests organised by local peace fibre-optic telephone trunk lines— processes most of the information svt sas eons | each capable of carrying 100,000 f ‘it yh various reception government officials who are con- Calls simultaneously—were wired One shocking revelation about cerned aout ie vastnewors ot | through Menwith Hill, allowing fen ilsanstotizhin 197 espionage conducted from the station the NSA to tap into the very heart campaigners appealing their convic- by the United States."” HH tions for trespassing at the facility. The beginnings of Menwith Hill go of the British Telecom network. In documents and testimony submit- back to December 1951, when the US ted by British Telecom in the case, Air Force and British War Office Mr R.G. Morris, BT's head of signed a lease for land that had been purchased by the British Emergency Planning, revealed that at least three major domestic Government. The NSA took over the lease of the base in 1966 _ fibre-optic telephone trunk lines—each capable of carrying and has continued to build up the facility ever since. 100,000 calls simultaneously—were wired through Menwith Up until the mid-1970s, Menwith Hill was used for intercepting Hill,” allowing the NSA to tap into the very heart of the British international leased carrier (ILC) communications and non-diplo- Telecom network. Judge Jonathan Crabtree rebuked British matic communications (NDC). Having received one of the first | Telecom over his revelations and prohibited Mr Morris from giv- sophisticated IBM computers in the early 1960s, Menwith Hill ing any further testimony in the case for "national security" was also used to sort through the voluminous unenciphered telex _ reasons. communications, which consisted of international messages, According to Duncan Campbell, the secret spying alliance telegrams and telephone calls from the government, business and _ between Menwith Hill and British Telecom began in 1975 with a civilian sectors, in the search for anything of political, military or coaxial connection to the British Telecom microwave facility at economic value.” Hunter's Stone, four miles away from Menwith Hill—a connec- The addition of the first satellite intercept station at Menwith tion maintained even today.” Hill in 1974 raised the base's prominence in intelligence-gather- Additional systems—TROUTMAN, ULTRAPURE, ing. Eight large satellite communications dishes were installed TOTALISER, SILVERWEED, RUCKUS et al.—complete the during that phase of construction. Several satellite gathering sys- monumental SIGINT collection efforts at Menwith Hill. tems now dot the facility:” Directing its electronic vacuum-cleaners towards unsuspecting STEEPLEBUSH - Completed in 1984, this $160 million sys- communications satellites in the skies, receiving signals gathered tem expanded the satellite surveillance capability and mission of _ by satellites that scoop up the most minute signals on the ground, the spy station beyond the bounds of the installation that began in listening in on the radio communications throughout the air or 1974. plugging into the ground-based telecommunications network, RUNWAY - Running east and west across the facility, this Menwith Hill—alongside its sister stations at Pine Gap, Australia, system receives signals from the second-generation geosynchro- and Bad Aibling, Germany—tepresents the comprehensive effort nous Vortex satellites and gathers miscellaneous communications of the NSA, with its UKUSA allies, to make sure that no commu- traffic from Europe, Asia and the former Soviet Union. The nications signal escapes its electronic net. THE MENWITH HILL FACILITY The Menwith Hill facility is located in North Yorkshire, England, near Harrogate. The important role that Menwith Hill plays in the ECHELON system was recognised by the recent European Parliament STOA report: Within Europe, all e-mail, telephone and fax communications are routinely intercepted by the United States National Security Agency, transferring all target information from the European mainland via the strategic hub of London, then by satellite to Fort Meade in Maryland via the crucial hub at Menwith Hill in the North Yorks Moors of the UK." NEXUS - 23 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1999