No-one who has spoken to him would doubt that he's an expert on his subject. Thanks David for the Gibson info.
Strakes lend control when nose pitches much higher than direction of flight.
These deflect engine exhaust to boost pitch and yaw control. Hydraulic actuators extend them to interact with vortexes swirling around the nose. The strakes work best at turning the jet left and right when it's in high angles of attack. The photo may show a test flight of this target or an advanced version of it, over the White Sands Missile Range. On occasion, we were assigned to fly in an area called Yonder.