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The Lockheed 'F-117A Nighthawk' is a stealth ground attack aircraft operated solely by the United States Air Force. The F-117A's first flight was in 1977, and it achieved Initial Operational Capability status in October 1983.¹ The F-117A came out of secrecy and was revealed to the world in November 1988.^[2]
As a product of the Skunk Works and a development of the Have Blue prototype, it became the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology. The F-117A was widely publicized during the Gulf War.
The Air Force is on-track to retire the F-117 from October 2006 to 2008, due mainly to the deployment of the more effective F-22 Raptor.^[3][4]

Contents

Design and development

Designation

Nicknames

Technical description

Design history

Operational history

Combat losses

Retirement

Specifications

Popular culture

References

External links

Related content

Design and development

Designation

Most modern U.S. military aircraft use post-1962 designations in which the designation "F" is usually an air-to-air fighter, "B" is usually a bomber, "A" is usually a ground-attack aircraft, etc. (Examples include the F-15, the B-2, and the A-6. The Stealth Fighter is primarily a ground-attack plane so its "F" designation is inaccurate.
The designation "F-117" would seem to indicate that it was given an official designation prior to the 1962 U.S. Tri-Service Aircraft Designation System and could be considered numerically to be a part of the earlier "century series" of fighters. The assumption prior to the revealing of the aircraft to the public was that it would likely receive the designation F-19 as that number had not been used. However there were no other aircraft to receive a "100" series number following the F-111. The explanation is rather an oddity. As with other exotic military aircraft types flying in the southern Nevada area, an arbitrary radio call of "117" was assigned. This same radio call had been used by the enigmatic 4477th "Red Hats/Red Eagles" unit that often had flown expatriated MiGs in the area, but there was no relationship to the call and the formal F-19 designation then being considered by the Air Force. Apparently, use of the "117" radio call became commonplace and when Lockheed released its first flight manual ("dash one"), F-117A was the designation imprinted on the cover.^[5]
A recent televised documentary quoted a senior member of the F-117A development team as saying that the top-notch fighter pilots required to fly the new aircraft were more easily attracted to an "F" plane, as opposed to a "B" or "A" aircraft.^[6]
The USAF maintains that the F-117A can carry air-to-air missiles, giving it air-to-air combat capability in addition to its primary air-to-ground mission. While that may be technically true, the aircraft is of unknown capability in air-combat. It lacks the radar to guide longer-range missiles and does not carry shorter-range missiles for self-defense.

Nicknames

Before it was given an official name, the engineers and test pilots referred to the ungainly aircraft, which went into hiding during daylight to avoid detection by Soviet satellites, as "Cockroach", a name that is still sometimes used. The aircraft's official nickname is "Night Hawk", but the variant "Nighthawk" is also frequent.^[7] As it prioritised stealth over aerodynamics, the first model was nicknamed "The Hopeless Diamond".^[8] Similarly, it earned the nickname "Wobblin' Goblin" due to its alleged instability at low speeds; according to F-117 pilots, the nickname is undeserved.^[9] Locals in the area around Holloman Air Force Base refer to the aircraft simply as the "Stealth".

Technical description

About the size of an F-15C Eagle, the single-seat F-117A is powered by two non-afterburning General Electric F404 turbofan engines, and has quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire flight controls. It is air refuelable. In order to lower development costs, the avionics, fly-by-wire systems, and other parts are derived from the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle. The parts were originally described as spares on budgets for these aircraft, to keep the F-117 project secret.
Among the penalties for stealth are 30% lower engine power, a very low wing aspect ratio, and a high sweep angle (50°) needed to deflect incoming radar waves to the sides.
The F-117A is equipped with sophisticated navigation and attack systems integrated into a digital avionics suite. It carries no radar, which lowers emissions and cross-section. It navigates primarily by GPS and high-accuracy inertial navigation. Missions are coordinated by an automated planning system that can automatically perform all aspects of a strike mission, including weapons release. Targets are acquired by a thermal imaging infrared system, slaved to a laser that finds the range and designates targets for laser-guided bombs.
The F-117A's split internal bay can carry 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) of ordnance. Typical weapons are a pair of GBU-10, GBU-12, or GBU-27 laser-guided bombs, two BLU-109 penetration bombs, or two Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), a GPS/INS guided stand-off bomb. There are a number of bombs that it cannot carry, either because they are too large to fit in its bomb bay, or are incompatible with the F-117's carry system.

Design history

In 1964, Pyotr Ya. Ufimtsev, a Russian mathematician, published a seminal paper, "Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction," in the Journal of the Moscow Institute for Radio Engineering, in which he showed that the strength of a radar return is proportional to the edge configuration of an object, not its size. Ufimtsev was extending theoretical work published by the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld.^[10][11][12] Ufimtsev demonstrated that he could calculate the radar cross-section across a wing's surface and along its edge. The obvious conclusion was that even a large airplane could be made stealthy by exploiting this principle. However, the airplane's design would make it aerodynamically unstable, and the state of computer science in the early 1960s could not provide the kinds of flight computers which allow aircraft such as the F-117, F-22 Raptor and B-2 Spirit to stay airborne. However, by the 1970s, when a Lockheed analyst reviewing foreign literature found Ufimtsev's paper, computers and software had advanced significantly, and the stage was set for the development of a stealthy airplane.^[13]
The decision to produce the F-117A was made in 1973, and a contract awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, popularly known as the "Skunk Works," in Burbank, California. The program was led by Ben Rich. Rich called on Bill Schroeder, a Lockheed mathematician, and Denys Overholser, a computer scientist, to exploit Ufimtsev's work; they designed a computer program called Echo. Echo made it possible to design an airplane with flat panels, called facets, which were arranged so as to scatter over 99% of a radar's signal energy "painting" the airplane. ^[14][15][13]
The project began with a model called "The Hopeless Diamond" in 1975 due to its bizarre appearance. In 1977, Lockheed produced two 60% scale models under the Have Blue contract. The first flight of the F-117 was in 1977, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision. The first F-117A was delivered in 1982, operational capability was achieved in October 1983, and the last of 59 airplanes was delivered in the summer of 1990.^[17] The Air Force denied the existence of the aircraft until 1988, then in April 1990 an example was put on public display at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, attracting tens of thousands of spectators.
During the program's early years, from 1984 to mid-1992, the F-117A fleet was based at Tonopah Test Range, Nevada where it served under the 4450th Tactical Group. The 4450th was absorbed by the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing in 1989. In 1992, the entire fleet was transferred to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, where it was placed under the command of the 49th Fighter Wing. The move eliminated the need for Key Air flights, which flew 22,000 passenger trips on 300 flights from Nellis to Tonopah per month.

As the Air Force has stated,¹ "Streamlined management by Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, combined breakthrough stealth technology with concurrent development and production to rapidly field the aircraft... The F-117A program demonstrates that a stealth aircraft can be designed for reliability and maintainability." The aircraft maintenance statistics are comparable to other tactical fighters of similar complexity. Logistically supported by Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan AFB, California, the F-117A is kept at the forefront of technology through a planned weapon system improvement program located at USAF Plant 42 at Palmdale, California.
Several of the F-117s were painted in a grey camouflage pattern in an experiment to determine the effectiveness of the F-117's stealth during daylight conditions. Also, 2004 and 2005 saw several mid-life improvement programs being implemented on the F-117, including an avionics upgrade.

Operational history

The F-117 has been used several times in war. Its first mission was during the United States invasion of Panama in 1989. During that invasion two F-117A Nighthawks dropped two bombs on Rio Hato airfield. However, during the Gulf War, it performed rather poorly in its dropping of smart bombs on Iraqi military targets, achieving a success rate of only 40%.^[18] It has since been used in the Kosovo War in 1999, the Operation Enduring Freedom and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, F-117As flew approximately 1,300 sorties and scored direct hits on 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq. It was not the only U.S. or coalition aircraft to strike targets in downtown Baghdad, as the Nighthawk shared this distinction with the F-16 which attacked Baghdad during daylight on 19 January 1991 during the "Package Q" mission. Since moving to Holloman AFB in 1992, the F-117A and the men and women of the 49th Fighter Wing have deployed to Southwest Asia more than once. On their first trip, the F-117s flew non-stop from Holloman to Kuwait, a flight of approximately 18.5 hours -- a record for single-seat fighters that stands today.

Combat losses

One F-117 has been lost in combat, to Serbian forces. On March 27, 1999, during the Kosovo War, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under the command of Colonel Zoltán Dani, equipped with the Isayev S-125 'Neva-M' (NATO designation SA-3 'Goa'), downed F-117A serial number 82-806 with a Serbian improved Neva-M missile.^[19] According to NATO Commander Wesley Clark and other NATO generals, Serb air defenses found that they could detect F-117s with their radars operating on unusually long wavelengths. This made them visible on radar screens for short times. The pilot survived and was later rescued by US Air Force Pararescue personnel. However, the wreckage of the F-117 was not promptly bombed, due to possible media fallout from news footage of civilians around the wreckage. The Serbs are believed to have invited Russian personnel to inspect the remains, inevitably compromising the then 25-year-old US stealth technology.^[20] Since the United States did not destroy the wreckage, the remains can still be seen by civilians today at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade close to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.
An error of assumption was made by many as to the identity of the pilot. While the name "Capt Ken "Wiz" Dwelle" was painted on the canopy, Dwelle was not the pilot on this mission and the true identity of the pilot was not made public. [2] [3] [4]
Reportedly several SA-3s were launched, one of which detonated in close promixity to the F-117A, forcing the pilot to eject. According to an interview, Zoltán Dani was able to keep most of his missile sites intact and had a number of spotters spread out looking for F-117s and other NATO aircraft. The commanders and crews of the SAMs guessed the flight paths of earlier F-117A strikes from rare radar spottings and positioned their SAM launchers and spotters accordingly. It is believed that the SA-3 crews and spotters were able to locate and track F-117A 82-806 visually, probably with the help of infra-red and night vision systems. He also claimed that his battery shot down an F-16 as well (which according to NATO was lost due to mechanical failure).
Some American sources acknowledge that a second F-117A was also damaged during a raid in the same campaign, and although it made it back to its base, it never flew again.^[21][22]
There were also some unconfirmed reports that F-117 were sometimes spotted by the Iraqi radars during the Gulf War.

Retirement

Despite its successes in the Kosovo and Iraq Wars and its high mission-capable rate, the F-117 was nonetheless designed with late 1970s technologies. Its stealth technology, while still more advanced than that of any other aircraft but the B-2 Spirit, F-22A and F-35, is maintenance heavy. Furthermore, the facet-based stealth design (which has aerodynamic cost) represents an old counter-radar technique that has since been greatly refined. Program Budget Decision 720, dated December 28, 2005, proposed retiring the entire fleet by October 2008 to allow for buying more F-22As. PBD 720 called for 10 aircraft to be retired in FY 2007 and the remaining 42 aircraft in FY 2008 and stated there were other more capable Air Force assets that could provide low observable, precision penatrating weapons capability including the B-2 Spirit, F-22A and JASSM.^[23]
By late 2006, the Air Force had closed the F-117 pilot school,^[24] and announced the retirement of the F-117.^[25]. The first six aircraft to be retired made the last flight on 12 March 2007 after a ceremony at Holloman AFB to commemorate the aircraft's storied career. Brigadier General David Goldfein, commander of the 49th Fighter Wing, said at the ceremony, "With the launch of these great aircraft today, the circle comes to a close - their service to our nation's defense fulfilled, their mission accomplished and a job well done. We send them today to their final resting place - a home they are intimately familiar with - their first, and only, home outside of Holloman."^[26]
Unlike most other Air Force aircraft which are retired to Davis-Monthan AFB, the F-117s are being retired to the Tonopah Test Range. There, their wings will be removed and the aircraft will be stored in their original hangars.

Specifications

An orthographically projected diagram of the F-117A Nighthawk

Popular culture

★ A Sprint commercial in the 1990s featured a large schematic drawing of the F-117, which was then subsequently identified incorrectly by Candice Bergen, their spokesperson, as a B-2.

★ During the 1999 bombing of Serbia, after an F-117 was shot down by Serbian troops, a Serbian performing group Indexovo radio pozorište composed a satirical song "El kondor pada" about its pilot.

★ In the 1980s, the Jane's Information Group misidentified the F-117 as the F-19, and featured fictitious artwork in ''All the World's Aircraft.'' Modelmakers Testors and Monogram both released hypothetical "F-19 Stealth" models; neither bore any resemblance to the real F-117.

References

1. USAF F-117A Nighthawk fact sheet, accessed 2007-08-09.
2. Cracks in the Black Dike, Secrecy, the Media and the F-117A.
3. "F-117: A long, storied history that is about to end", Air Force Print News, 10/28/2006.
4. Shea, Christopher. "Now you see it..." ''Boston Globe '' 4 February 2007.
5. Miller, Jay. "Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter" ''Aerofax Extra'', Stock No. 0403 Copyright 1990.
6.
7. Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles
8. F-117 History
9. The Black Jet, , Jeffrey P., Rhodes, Air Force Magazine,
10. Centennial of Flight about stealth
11. UCI Ufimtsev
12. "Filling the Stealth Gap," in Air and Space Power Journal Fall 2006
13. The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft
14. Discovery Military Channel on Stealth
15. AirAttack.com on Stealth
16. The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft
17. Centennial of Flight about F-117
18. Fisk, Robert. ''. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2006, p. 650. ISBN 1-84115-007-X.
19. How to Take Down an F-117 Strategy Page, 21 November 2005. USA Today - Serb discusses 1999 downing of stealth (26 October 2005), Access date: 4 November 2006
20. Smith, Charles R. "Russia Offers India Billion Weapons Deal." ''NewsMax.com'' 12 December 2001. [1] Access date: 20 January 2007.
21. Description of our Failing Defense Acquisition System
22. Nixon, Mark. "Gallant Knights, MiG-29 in Action during Allied Force." ''AirForces Monthly magazine'', January 2002.
23. Program Budget Decision 720
24. "F-117 pilot school closes." ''Air Force Times'' Access date: 20 January 2007.
25. Bates, Staff Sergeant Matthew. "F-117: A long, storied history that is about to end.", Access date: 28 October 2006.
26. Barrier, Terri. "F-117A retirement bittersweet occasion." ''Aerotech News and Review'', 16 March 2007.

----

★ Crickmore, Paul F. and Alison J. ''Nighthawk F-117 Stealth Fighter''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks, 2003. ISBN 0-7603-1512-4.

★ Donald, David, ed. ''Black Jets: The Development and Operation of America's Most Secret Warplanes''. Norwalk, Connecticut: AIRtime Publishing Inc., 2003. ISBN 1-880588-67-6.

★ Sun, Andt. ''F-117A Stealth Fighter''. Hong Kong: Concord Publications Co., 1990. ISBN 962-361-017-3.

★ Winchester, Jim, ed. "Lockheed F-117". ''Modern Military Aircraft'' (Aviation Factfile). Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2004. ISBN 1-84013-640-5.

★ ''The World's Great Stealth and Reconnaissance Aircraft''. New York: Smithmark, 1991. ISBN o-8317-9558-1.

External links

★ AirAttack.com on Stealth

★ F-117 Anniversary

★ F-117 Crash at Air Show in Baltimore

★ Air Force Link - Fact Sheet : F-117A Nighthawk

★

★ U.S. Air Force F-117A Nighthawk - Wallpaper

★ Centennial of Flight about stealth

★ Centennial of Flight about F-117

★ CNN - U.S. plane shot down, pilot rescued - March 27, 1999

★ CNN - Downed NATO pilot rescued, U.S. officials say - March 27, 1999

★ CNN - Stealth Nighthawk downed in Yugoslavia - March 28, 1999

★ CNN - NATO stealth missions continue after crash - March 28, 1999

★ The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft

★ Discovery Military Channel on Stealth

★ UCI Ufimtsev

★ "Filling the Stealth Gap," in Air and Space Power Journal Fall 2006

★ www.f-117a.com - comprehensive site

★ FAS F-117A Nighthawk

★ F-117 In Action

★ NY Times - U.S. Stealth Fighter Is Downed in Yugoslavia

★ http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/032899kosovo-rdpa.1.html

★ Interception of F-117 by Austrian Airforce

★ Venik's Aviation—A US F-117 Night Hawk stealth bomber shot down over Yugoslavia

★ Stealth plane set for mothballing by Air Force

★ Austrian article about interception of F-117

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