Posted on 04/22/2008 11:08:48 AM PDT by jazusamo
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin are giving a secret retirement send-off to the world's first radar-evading fighter.
They were born shrouded in mystery in a windowless building in Burbank. They flew combat missions over Serbia and Iraq virtually invisible to enemy radar. And today, the black, bat-like F-117A Night Hawks will fly quietly into the night as stealthily as they came.
The last four of the world's first stealth fighters will make their final flights from Palmdale to a secret desert base in Nevada, where they will be locked up indefinitely in a secure concrete hangar.
But unlike the passing of other notable planes, there will be no public fanfare or farewell for these mysterious aircraft that revolutionized aerial warfare. The F-117 is still so cloaked in secrecy that only employees and retirees who worked on the program can attend its retirement ceremony at Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Skunk Works plant in Palmdale. A few aerospace reporters have been invited, but they had to be U.S. citizens.
"Some aspects of the plane are still classified," said Dianne Knippel, spokeswoman for Lockheed, whose legendary Skunk Works design house, formerly in Burbank and now in Palmdale, developed and built the aircraft.
The hushed send-off is no surprise to aviation buffs and historians who have followed one of the nation's most secretive aircraft programs since the Pentagon covertly launched it more than 30 years ago.
"It reflects a hyper-security culture that has accompanied this thing since the beginning," said John Pike, a defense policy analyst with . "It's the nation's first stealth technology, and as a result you might imagine all the caution with security."
The single-seat F-117 was the first plane that could evade radar detection; it was designed to fly into heavily defended areas to knock out radar installations and anti-aircraft missile...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I have Ben’s book. A great read. A couple of speculations. You may recall that the Serbs shot one of the 117’s down during the Balkan operations. I never really heard a whole lot about how they managed to accomplish that. Just a lucky shot or did they have information that allowed them to actually track the aircraft. Could it be that the jig is up and the Air Force feels the 117 is too vulnerable now. Just wondering.
On the other hand, I wonder if this is all an elaborate show and the 117 will remain in the inventory but perhaps in reduced numbers and a different role. Recce maybe. Just seems like such a short service life to be making beer cans out of them.
The Wright Patterson museum already has both an F117 and a B2:
They got this B-52 inside also if I am not mistaken.
I think I went to that air show. They had one on static display. The other aircraft were just roped off. The F-117 had those metal barriers, and 3-4 M-16-armed guards inside the barriers.
My office was at Powers Ferry Landing then, just up the hill from Ray’s. That area is now being completely redeveloped, except for Ray’s.
I built the mold that encapsulates the detcord that runs the zigzag pattern on the inside of the canopy so when/if the pilot ejects it shatters it as they go out of the F-22.
I was really disappointed that the museum removed it before they got it in there and didn’t replace my rubber part to be authentic. I know I have other parts there but having one so prominently displayed for millions of people to see would have been kind of nice.
I should write them and see what they say.
Yes, one thing I remember reading was that the Czech "passive" radar (TAMARA) was already capable of tracking the Stealth in the late 80's. We never had to deal with this much because the cold war ended before mass production of TAMARA began. I know that we urged the Czechs not to sell the system after the cold war ended. It was part of the deal when they began NATO negotiations.
Supposedly the TAMARA was being used by the Serbs. It was never confirmed, but I remember stories asserting this at the time.
If memory serves didn’t the French have something to do with tipping them off as to when it might be flying over? I seem to remember a rumor of that later after it happened.
I believe that the F117’s require a huge amount of maintainence to keep them stealthy and healthy.
Who says they’re not?
In seriousness, in the current day of really good stealth cruise missles and stealth drones, the F-117 was of limited use.
Carter also approved the use of FCC frequencies that brought us Mr. Microphone.
Huge accomplishment.
It used cell towers and computer linkage, looking for a “hole” in multiple reflections. Basically shooting at wasn’t there.
Thanks. I was not aware that the Czech’s had developed this technology. Can you elaborate on the TAMARA system.
So why did it get a “F” designation and not an “A”? Did it have any dog-fighting capability whatsoever?
Because you can attract some good pilots with the "F" designation
I don’t know, I just build ‘em to what the engineers design but I imagine speed must be the reason. Maybe only having one charge to detonate instead of a more complex set to lift the canopy is safer, I don’t really know.
Both of your questions are interesting. I think the Serbs made a lucky shot. As for a “stealthy” future for the F-117, I guess the F-22 has eclipsed it. The short shelf life of the F-117 does make me appreciate the B-52 ...
Bull s***.
The only reason I know anything about TAMARA is that I was living in Prague then and it was all over the newspapers. And we did demand that the Czechs not sell their system to hostile countries, so I know that it must have been a matter of some concern. The Czechs certainly were proud of themselves for causing such concern in the USA. They were also, however, happy to forgo selling the system and join NATO.
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