Update on Ross Coulthart’s “Measure Analyze Protect” Patch

Measure Analyze Protect Patch

I’ve been following the thread about the patch over on Metabunk to see what they come up with. One of their users likely identified the patch, and after seeing a particularly bad post here trying to claim Ross Coulthart bought the patch on eBay, I thought I should update you guys on what’s up.

The Metabunk user is a forum moderator on a site called Dreamland Resort, a site dedicated to the history of Area 51. In the forum are some actual ex employees / contractors from A51, along with a guy named Peter Merlin who is a well known aerospace journalist and historian.

The Metabunk user asked about this patch and Peter replied:

I have known about this patch for several years after first encountering it as an “EG&G radar patch from the test site” (i.e., Groom Lake). Of course EG&G has since become URS and now AECOM, but I digress. The main point is that it’s from the EW/RCS range at Groom.

EW/RCS stands for Electronic Warfare and Radar Cross Section. At a radar cross section testing facility, they prop up aircraft (or whatever else) on pylons and hit them with radar to see what they look like, to test out new stealth fighters etc.

On the patch on the lower left half is a repeating representation of a directional antenna signal with sidelobes, along with a representation of an aluminum radar calibration sphere.

The exact meaning behind the symbolism in the upper right half of the patch isn’t known, except for the obvious radar screen/reticle behind the star.

One user on the forum claims to have another one of these patches, but his name is “NotTelling” and he lives up to his namesake.

The exact group this patch comes from has not been revealed, but it seems like at least two people in the know about it have confirmed that the patch is real and does in fact come from Groom Lake / A51.