F-117 Nighthawk

F-117 Nighthawk
F-117 Nighthawk Front.jpg
Role Stealth attack aircraft[1]
National origin United States
Manufacturer Lockheed Skunk Works
Lockheed Martin
First flight 18 June 1981
Introduction 15 October 1983
Retired April 22 2008[2]
Primary user United States Air Force
Number built 64 (5 YF-117A, 59 F-117A)
Unit cost US$ 42.6 M (flyaway cost)
US$ 111.2 M (total program)[3]
Developed from Lockheed Have Blue

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a stealth ground attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force. The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved Initial Operational Capability status in October 1983.[1] The F-117A was "acknowledged" and revealed to the world in November 1988.[4]

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 of 1991.

The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008,[2] primarily due to the acquisition and eventual deployment of the more effective F-22 Raptor[5][6] and F-35 Lightning II.

Contents

Development

The F-117 was born after combat experience in the Vietnam War after increasing sophistication of Soviet surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) downed heavy bomber flights.[7]

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 related to the edge configuration of an object, not its size.[8] Ufimtsev was extending theoretical work published by the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld.[9][10][11] 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, 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.[12]

F-117 taxiing.

The F-117 was a black project, an ultra-secret program for much of its life, until the late 1980s.[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 Have Blue program was a stealth technology demonstrator that lasted from 1976 to 1979. The success of Have Blue lead the Air Force to create the Senior Trend Program which developed the F-117.

The decision to produce the F-117A was made on November 1, 1978, and a contract awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, popularly known as the Skunk Works, in Burbank, California.[14] 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, which 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.[15][16][12]

F-117A painted in 'Gray Dragon' experimental camouflage scheme.

The F-117 first flew in June 1981, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision. The first production 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.[9] The Air Force denied the existence of the aircraft until 1988, when a grainy photograph was released to the public. In April 1990 two were flown into Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, arriving during daylight and visible to a crowd of tens of thousands.

As the Air Force has stated, "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."[1] 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. 2004 and 2005 saw several mid-life improvement programs implemented on the F-117, including an avionics upgrade.

Designation

An F-117A parked at Langley AFB, Virginia.

The 59 operational aircraft have an official designation of "F-117A".[17] The five Full Scale Development (FSD) aircraft are designated "YF-117A".[18]

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 an example of US Government secrecy. Captured Soviet fighters were given F-series numbers for their evaluation by U.S. test pilots, and with the advent of the "Teen Series" fighters, most often 'Century Series' designations.

As with other exotic military aircraft types flying in the southern Nevada area, such as captured fighters, 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 printed on the cover.[19]

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.[20]

Nicknames

The aircraft's official name is "Night Hawk",[21] however the alternative form "Nighthawk" is frequently used.

Before it was given an official name, the engineers and test pilots referred to the aircraft, which was hidden during daylight to avoid detection by Soviet satellites, as "Cockroach", a name that is still sometimes used. As it prioritized stealth over aerodynamics, the first model was nicknamed "The Hopeless Diamond".[22] Similarly, it earned the nickname "Wobbly-Goblin" due to its alleged instability at low speeds; according to F-117 pilots, the nickname is undeserved.[23] "Wobbly (or wobblin') Goblin" is likely a holdover from the early Have Blue / Senior Trend (FSD) days of the project when instability was a problem. In the USAF, "Goblin" (without wobbly) persists as a nickname because of the aircraft's appearance. Locals around Holloman Air Force Base call it the "Stealth".

F-117 pilots call themselves "Bandits". Each of the 558 Air Force pilots who have flown the F-117 have a Bandit number, such as "Bandit 123", that indicates the sequential order of their first flight in the F-117.[24]

Design

F-117 Front View.jpg

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. 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 lower engine power thrust, due to losses in the inlet and outlet, a very low wing aspect ratio, and a high sweep angle (50°) needed to deflect incoming radar waves to the sides.[25] These contribute to make the 117 one of the few subsonic post-WWII US military aircraft.

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.

Operational history

An F-117A during landing employing a drag-chute.

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. Because the F-117 was classified during this time, the 4450th Tactical Group was "officially" located at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and equipped with A-7 Corsair II aircraft. 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 Key Air flights, which flew 22,000 passenger trips on 300 flights from Nellis to Tonopah per month.

The F-117 has been used several times in war. Its first mission was during the United States invasion of Panama in 1989.[26] During that invasion two F-117A Nighthawks dropped two bombs on Rio Hato airfield.

F-117s in formation

During the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the F-117A flew approximately 1,300 sorties and scored direct hits on 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq[1] while flying 6,905 combat flying hours.[27] The F-117 comprised only 2.5 percent of the American aircraft in Iraq yet struck more than 40 percent of the strategic targets.[28] "During their mission, the F-117A pilots delivered over 2,000 tons of precision-guided ordnance with a hit rate of better than 80 percent. Although the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing Provisional and its 42 stealth fighters represented just 2 1/2 percent of all allied fighter and attack aircraft in the Gulf, the F-117As were assigned against more than 31 percent of the strategic Iraqi military targets attacked during the first 24 hours of the air campaign."[27] During the war, it performed poorly dropping smart bombs on military targets, achieving a success rate of only 40%.[29]

It was among the only U.S. or coalition aircraft to strike targets in downtown Baghdad. Among the aircraft with which the Nighthawk shared this distinction were the F-16s which attacked Baghdad during daylight on 19 January 1991 during the "Package Q" mission - the largest single strike flown during the war.[30]

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.[1]

It has since been used in Operation Allied Force in 1999, Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Combat losses

Canopy of F-117 shot down on 27 March 1999, near the village of Buđanovci, Serbia (Museum of Aviation in Belgrade)

One F-117 has been lost in combat, to the Yugoslav Army. On 27 March 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' (NATO designation SA-3 'Goa') anti-aircraft missile system, downed a F-117A callsign "Vega 31," serial number 82-806 with a Serbian improved Neva-M missile.[31][32] According to NATO Commander Wesley Clark and other NATO generals, Yugoslav air defenses detected F-117s by operating their radars on unusually long wavelengths, making them visible to radar for brief periods.

Reportedly several SA-3s were launched from approximately 8 miles out, one of which detonated in close proximity to the F-117A, forcing the pilot to eject. Though still classified, it is believed that the F-117 has no radar warning indicator, so the pilot's first indication of an incoming missile was likely seeing its flame. At this distance and combined speed the pilot had about 6 seconds to react before impact. According to an interview, Zoltán Dani kept most of his missile sites intact by frequently moving them, and had spotters looking for F-117s and other NATO aircraft. He personally supervised the modification of his targeting radar to increase its wavelength. 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 infra-red and night vision systems. He claimed that his battery shot down an F-16 as well.

The F-117 pilot survived and was later rescued by U.S. Air Force Pararescue personnel. 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, compromising the then 25-year old U.S. stealth technology.[33] The remains are displayed at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade close to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. An error was made by many about the pilot's identity. While the name "Capt Ken 'Wiz' Dwelle" was painted on the canopy, it was revealed in 2007 that the pilot was Lt Col. Dale Zelko, USAF.[34][35][36][37]

Some American sources acknowledge that a second F-117A was damaged during the same campaign, and although returned to base, it supposedly never flew again.[38][39]

Retirement

Despite its productive combat service, the F-117 was designed with late 1970s technologies. Its stealth technology, while more advanced than that of any other aircraft except the B-2 Spirit, F-22 and F-35, is maintenance intensive. Furthermore, the facet-based stealth design has been surpassed by newer technology. Program Budget Decision 720 (PBD 720), dated 28 December 2005, proposed retiring the entire fleet by October 2008 to permit 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 more capable Air Force assets that could provide low observable, precision penetrating weapons capability including the B-2, F-22 and JASSM.[40] The Air Force originally planned to retire the F-117 in 2011. The Air Force later decided to retire the F-117 sooner to shift funds to modernizing the rest of the fleet.[41] This would save an estimated $1.07 billion.[42]

A pair of specially painted F-117 Nighthawks fly off from their last refueling by the Ohio National Guard's 121st Air Refueling Wing

In late 2006, the Air Force closed the F-117 pilot school,[43] and announced the retirement of the F-117.[44] 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 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."[45]

Unlike most other Air Force aircraft which are retired to Davis-Monthan AFB, the F-117s are being retired to the Tonopah Test Range. At Tonopah, their wings will be removed and the aircraft will be stored in their original hangars.[45] On 11 March 2008 it was reported that the last F-117s in service would touch down on 22 April 2008 in Tonopah Test Range Airfield in Nevada, the site of the F-117's first flight.[46] The F-117 was retired during ceremonies at Palmdale and Tonopah on 22 April 2008.[2] Four aircraft were kept flying beyond April by the 410th Flight Test Squadron at Palmdale for flight test. By the beginning of August, two were remaining, and the last F-117 left Palmdale to fly to Tonopah on 11 August 2008.[47] With the last aircraft leaving for retirement, the 410th was inactivated in a ceremony on 1 August 2008.[48]

Aircraft on display

The first YF-117A is currently on pedestal display at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada () and is visible from outside the base on Nellis Blvd. The second YF-117A is currently on static display at the National Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The third YF-117A built is on static display at Holloman Air Force Base, repainted to resemble the first F-117A used to drop weapons in combat. The fourth YF-117A built is currently on static display in the Blackbird Airpark at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Parts of a F-117A are also on display at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade.[49]

Specifications

An orthographically projected diagram of the F-117A Nighthawk
An F-117 conducts a live exercise bombing run using GBU-27 laser-guided bombs.

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

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. 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 and more closely resembled Dyna-soar "space planes". In the 1996 film Executive Decision a modified F-117 known as the "Remora" is used to transfer an assault team onto another aircraft in midflight using a docking system. In the film Philadelphia Experiment 2, a transportation experiment sent an F-117 back in time to Nazi Germany. It was also the subject of a computer game, Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0, by Microprose Software.

See also

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 F-117A Nighthawk fact sheet, USAF, October 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Pae, Peter. "Stealth fighters fly off the radar", Los Angeles Times, 23 April 2008. Retrieved: 27 April 2008.
  3. ↑ Aronstein, David C.; Albert C. Piccirillo (1997). HAVE BLUE and the F-117A. AIAA. pp. 267. ISBN 1-56347-245-7. 
  4. ↑ Cunningham, Jim. "Cracks in the Black Dike, Secrecy, the Media and the F-117A." Air & Space Power Journal, Fall 1991. Retrieved: 19 March 2008.
  5. ↑ "F-117: A long, storied history that is about to end", Air Force Print News, 28 October 2006.
  6. ↑ Shea, Christopher. you see it..., Boston Globe, 4 February 2007. Retrieved: 17 March 2008.
  7. ↑ Air-Attack.com - F-117A Nighthawk
  8. ↑ "Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Stealth article on Centennial of Flight web site
  10. ↑ UCI Ufimtsev, Pyotr Ya. "Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction." Journal of the Moscow Institute for Radio Engineering, 1964.
  11. ↑ Ireton, Major Colin T. "Filling the Stealth Gap." Air and Space Power Journal Fall 2006.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft
  13. ↑ Top Gun - the F-117 Stealth Fighter
  14. ↑ Rich 1994, p.71.
  15. ↑ "The Secrets of Stealth" on Discovery Military Channel
  16. ↑ F-117A Nighthawk page on AirAttack.com
  17. ↑ "DOD 4120.15-L: Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles", United States Department of Defense 12 May 2004 p. 38. Retrieved: 20 January 2007.
  18. ↑ "DOD 4120.15-L - Addendum", United States Department of Defense December 2007.
  19. ↑ Miller 1990
  20. ↑ "Stealth and Beyond: Air Stealth (TV-series)". The History Channel 2006. Retrieved: 19 March 2008.
  21. ↑ "DOD 4120.15-L: Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles", United States Department of Defense 12 May 2004 p. 38. Retrieved: 20 January 2007.
  22. ↑ "F-117 History", F-117 Stealth Fighter Association. Retrieved: 20 January 2007.
  23. ↑ Rhodes, Jeffrey P. "The Black Jet" Air Force Magazine. Air Force Association, Volume 73, Issue 7, July 1990. Retrieved: 20 January 2007.
  24. ↑ "Air Force's stealth fighters making final flights". cnn.com. Retrieved: 11 March 2008.
  25. ↑ Sweetman, Bill. "Unconventional Weapon." Air & Space, December 2007/January 2008. Retrieved: 19 March 2008.
  26. ↑ Crocker 2006, p. 382.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Weapons: F-117A Stealth, PBS Frontline
  28. ↑ "Navy Looks On with Envy at Air Force Stealth Display", New York Times
  29. ↑ Fisk 2006, p. 650.
  30. ↑ The Lucky Devils
  31. ↑ How to Take Down an F-117, Strategy Page, 21 November 2005.
  32. ↑ "Serb discusses 1999 downing of stealth", USA Today, 26 October 2005, Retrieved: 4 November 2006.
  33. ↑ Smith, Charles R. "Russia Offers India $8 Billion Weapons Deal", NewsMax.com 12 December 2001. Retrieved: 20 January 2007.
  34. ↑ Dorr, Robert F. "USAF Fighter Force at 60". AirForces Monthly magazine, October 2007.
  35. ↑ Kosovo
  36. ↑ US downed plane 1
  37. ↑ US downed plane 2
  38. ↑ Riccioni, Colonel Everest E. "Description of our Failing Defense Acquisition System", Project on government oversight, 8 March 2005.
  39. ↑ Nixon, Mark. "Gallant Knights, MiG-29 in Action during Allied Force." AirForces Monthly magazine, January 2002.
  40. ↑ "Program Budget Decision 720" Department of Defense.
  41. ↑ "Air Force's stealth fighters making final flights." CNN, 11 March 2008.
  42. ↑ "New Mexico Air Force base at crossroads". Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  43. ↑ "F-117 pilot school closes." Air Force Times. Retrieved: 20 January 2007.
  44. ↑ Bates, Staff Sergeant Matthew. "F-117: A long, storied history that is about to end." US Air Force, 28 October 2006.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Barrier, Terri. "F-117A retirement bittersweet occasion." Aerotech News and Review, 16 March 2007.
  46. ↑ "Air Force's stealth fighters making final flights", CNN, 11 March 2008.
  47. ↑ "F-117’s final formation fling", Flight International, 8 August 2008.
  48. ↑ "410th FLTS 'Baja Scorpions' closes historic chapter", US Air Force, Edwards AFB, 5 August 2008.
  49. ↑ Daly, M. "Tape Reveals Stealth of Our Ukrainian Pal." Daily News. Retrieved: 2 January 2008.
  50. ↑ Goebel, Greg. . F-117 Development. Air Vectors, 1 February 2003. Retrieved: 12 June 2007.

Bibliography

  • Crickmore, Paul F. and Alison J. Nighthawk F-117 Stealth Fighter. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks, 2003. ISBN 0-7603-1512-4.
  • Crocker, H.W. III. Don't Tread on Me. New York: Crown Forum, 2006. ISBN 978-1400053636.
  • 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.
  • Fisk, Robert. The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2006. ISBN 1-84115-007-X.
  • Miller, Jay. Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter. Arlington, Texas: Aerofax Extra, 1990. ISBN 0-94254-848-5.
  • 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 0-8317-9558-1.
  • Rich, Ben R. "Skunk Works". New York: Back Bay Books, 1994. ISBN 0-316-74330-5.

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