The Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk was the first
functional aircraft designed around stealth technology.
It was developed during the 1970s and 1980s at the Lockheed Skunk Works division and was
operated by the US Air Force up to the first decade of the new millennium. The aircraft was
commonly referred to as the Stealth Fighter, but it was mainly a ground attack aircraft.
Once a top-secret project, the F-117 officially flew for the last time on March 11, 2008, proudly
displaying the American flag in a ceremony over the skies of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
But the loyal fighter remains vigilant, safely kept away
and ready to take to the skies if ever needed again...
Stealth Technology
After the Vietnam War and the downing of several heavy bombers by sophisticated Soviet
surface-to-air missiles, a top-secret Pentagon project using stealth technology surfaced in 1975.
The model was named Hopeless Diamond, a wordplay on the Hope Diamond due to its appearance.
The first stealth technology aircraft was conceived based on the Have Blue
radar engineering technology demonstrator. Skunk Works Director Kelly Johnson proposed a smooth,
blended-shaped airframe for speed and stealth. But his assistant, Ben Rich,
insisted on a faceted-angle surface for radar signature reduction.
In the 1960s, Soviet mathematician Pyotr Ufimtsev had published his theoretical work
on the edge diffraction of waves, showing that strength of radar return is given
by edge configurations rather than size. However groundbreaking his findings were,
the consequent geometry of said designs would render aircraft aerodynamically unstable.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that technology was advanced enough
to enable such unique aircraft to fly by using computerized controls.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency eventually issued a contract to Lockheed
for two Stealth Strike Fighters. These aircraft needed to be smaller-scale products for testing.
The project was codenamed Have Blue, and only a few Pentagon staff knew of its existence.
Operational Service
The decision to produce the F-117 A was taken in 1978.
A computer program called Echo was specially developed to fly the innovative airframe.
It included flat panels that scattered over 99% of a radar’s signal energy.
The single-seat, twin-engine aircraft was first flown on June 18, 1981,
from Groom Lake or Area 51, in Nevada. It reached full operational capability in 1983 but
wasn’t made public until 1988. Before then, the top-secret aircraft could only fly at nighttime.
Overall, 64 units were produced, 5 of which were prototypes, and 59 were production
aircraft. The last one was delivered in July of 1990. The Holloman Air Force Base in New
Mexico became the Nighthawk's home under the command of the 49th Fighter Wing since 1992.
The F-117 infamously served during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. It also took part in the
Yugoslavian conflict in 1999, where one was shot down and another was damaged during air combat.
After their retirement, the remaining aircraft were stored at an airfield in the Tonopah Test
Range, Nevada, where they used to fly in total secrecy until their existence was disclosed.
With their wings and tails removed and a portion of the fleet protected in hangars,
they can be rapidly set to fly again if they are ever needed.
A Farewell
After 27 years of honorable service, the F-117 Nighthawk was retired in a
special ceremony on March 11, 2008, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
General Bruce Carlson, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command,
recalled how the F-117 had flown around 1,300 sorties over Iraq and
Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, without a single combat loss.
The General also explained that the decision to retire the veteran aircraft was mainly
because a new generation of stealth aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor was on the horizon.
Colonel John Forsythe, the 49th Operations Group commander,
also stated that the radar-absorbing material of the F-117’s hull was too
expensive to maintain, and the aircraft had no defensive systems or even radar.
He added: (QUOTE) "We depend exclusively on the stealth provided by our maintainers."
During the ceremony, around 350 people witnessed three F-117 Nighthawks
performing a last fly-by, one of which was specially painted with the colors of the flag.
General Carlson concluded: (QUOTE) "This airplane was the foundation for low-observable
technology in the United States of America."
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