Rare HALO Gulfstream II (GLF2) Arrival & Takeoff

This a video I've been trying to take for quite some time! Here you will see HALO2 N178B, HALO1 N74A, and HALO4 N779LC arrive, then later take off en-route to their home base.
These aircraft are flown only a few times per year and can usually be found hanging out some place where there is a missile range nearby. They're owned bu the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and track/record ballistic missiles after they've been launched. Each jet has a mission specific to them and when coupled provide good coverage of missile launches.

After 3 years of chasing these, I've finally caught them. This video was taken at the Santa Maria Airport (KSMX) in California. Enjoy those stage II Rolls Royce Spey engines as the crank up to full power and generate quite some noise & smoke on departure!!
Info from their website :
High Altitude Observatory (HALO)

The High ALtitude Observatory (HALO) is an instrumented aircraft used as an airborne optical data collection platform supporting U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) tests. The system is currently based on Gulfstream IIB twin engine jet aircraft.

The system is used to collect missile test and evaluation data including photo documentation, characterization of target scenes, metric and radiometric characterization of systems, and missile plume phenomenology/signature data.

The HALO 1 (N74A) is an airborne system equipped with an infrared imaging system with high-speed visible and infrared photo-documentation. The large windows on the Gulfstream aircraft (replaced with optical windows) and enclosed, environmentally controlled optical benches make this aircraft an excellent choice for unique and experimental EO/IR systems.

The HALO 2 (N178B) and HALO 4 (N779LC) are airborne systems that operates at altitudes up to 13,716 meters (45,000 feet) that are equipped with visible and infrared photo-documentation and ultra high frequency satellite communication (SATCOM). They performs target acquisition and tracking. The EO/IR sensors are mounted in a pod on top of the fuselage (large dorsal fairing), enabling excellent azimuth field of regard (FOR) and horizon-to-horizon elevation viewing.

Видео Rare HALO Gulfstream II (GLF2) Arrival & Takeoff канала Skyes9