F-117A Nighthawk
Type	Stealth attack aircraft[1]
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Skunk Works Lockheed Martin
Maiden flight	18 June 1981
Introduction	October 1983
Retired	April 22, 2008[2]
Status	Retired[2]
Primary user	United States Air Force
Number built	64 (5 YF-117A, 59 F-117A)
Unit cost	US$45 million (flyaway cost)[1] US$122 million (FY 98, total program)
Developed from	Lockheed Have Blue

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a stealth ground attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force. Stealth aircraft are Aircraft that use Stealth technology to make it harder to be detected by radar and other means than conventional aircraft by employing a The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts Lockheed Martin ( is a large multinational Aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology Company formed in 1995 by the merger of The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Lockheed Corporation (originally Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company was an American aerospace company founded in 1912 which merged with Martin Marietta Stealth technology also known as LOT (Low Observability Technology is a sub-discipline of military Electronic countermeasures which covers a range of techniques used with Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as Close air support for and in proximity to their own ground forces 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. ^[3]

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. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The F-117A was widely publicized during the Gulf War.

The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008,^[2] primarily due to the purchasing and eventual deployment of the more effective F-22 Raptor^[4][5] and F-35 Lightning II. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Development

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. Pyotr Yakovlevich Ufimtsev (Пётр Я́ковлевич Уфи́мцев (born 1931 is a Russian physicist and mathematician considered the seminal force behind modern Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships ^[6] Ufimtsev was extending theoretical work published by the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld. Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld (5 December 1868 &ndash 26 April 1951 was a German theoretical Physicist who pioneered developments in atomic ^[7][8][9] 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. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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. ^[10]

The F-117 was a black project, an ultra-secret program for much of its life, until the late 1980s. In the United States, a black project is a classified military/defense project unacknowledged publicly by the government military personnel and defense contractors ^[11] 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. Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County California, United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The program was led by Ben Rich. Benjamin Robert Rich ( June 18 1925 – January 5 1995) was the second director of Lockheed 's Skunk Works from 1975 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. ^[12][13][10]

F-117 taxiing.

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. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The first flight of HAVE BLUE was in 1979. 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. ^[7] 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.

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. For information on the Tonopah Test Range airfield facilities see the article Tonopah Test Range Airport. Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. However, 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. Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Clark County, Nevada. Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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. Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located six miles (10 km) southwest of the Central business district of Alamogordo New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. The 49th Fighter Wing ( 49 FW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The move eliminated the need for Key Air flights, which flew 22,000 passenger trips on 300 flights from Nellis to Tonopah per month.

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

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. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties eight miles (13 km) northeast of Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads . . 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. McClellan Air Force Base (1935-2001 is a former front-line United States Air Force base located 7 miles Northeast of Sacramento California. United States Air Force Plant 42 (AFP 42 is a federally owned military Aerospace facility under the control of the Air Force Material Command Palmdale, the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city (on August 24, 1962

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. Avionics means "aviation electronics" It comprises electronic systems for use on aircraft artificial satellites and spacecraft comprising Communications

Designation

An F-117A parked at Langley AFB, Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state

The 59 operational aircraft have an official designation of "F-117A". ^[14] The five Full Scale Development (FSD) aircraft are designated "YF-117A". ^[15]

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. On the 18 September 1962, the United States Department of Defense introduced a unified designation system for the aircraft of the United States armed forces (Examples include the F-15, the B-2, and the A-6). WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The explanation is an example of general secrecy on the part of the U. S. Government. 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 imprinted on the cover. ^[16]

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. ^[17]

Nicknames

The aircraft's official name is "Night Hawk",^[18] however the alternate form "Nighthawk" is frequently used.

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. As it prioritized stealth over aerodynamics, the first model was nicknamed "The Hopeless Diamond". ^[19] Similarly, it earned the nickname "Wobbly-Goblin" due to its alleged instability at low speeds; according to F-117 pilots, the nickname is undeserved. ^[20] "Wobbly (or wobblin') Goblin" is very 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 in the area around Holloman Air Force Base refer to the aircraft simply as the "Stealth". Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located six miles (10 km) southwest of the Central business district of Alamogordo

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. ^[21]

Design

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. GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Evendale Ohio (a Cincinnati suburb WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Aircraft flight control systems consist of Flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls connecting linkages and the necessary operating mechanisms to control It is air refuelable. Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling ( IFR) air-to-air refueling ( AAR) or tanking, is 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. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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. In Aerodynamics, the aspect ratio of a wing is defined as the square of the wing span divided by the wing area ^[22]

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. Basic concept of GPS operation A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent by the constellation of GPS Satellites high above the Earth An Inertial Navigation System (INS is a Navigation aid that uses a Computer and motion sensors to continuously track the position orientation and Velocity 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. wiki stranglesnakejpg|thumb|Thermographic image of a Snake held by a human]] Infrared Thermography, thermal imaging, or thermal video, is a type of Infrared ( IR) radiation is Electromagnetic radiation whose Wavelength is longer than that of Visible light, but shorter than that of A laser is a device that emits Light ( Electromagnetic radiation) through a process called Stimulated emission. A laser-guided bomb (LGB is a Precision-guided munition (PGM that uses semi-active Laser homing to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than a free-fall

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. Combat history The GBU-27 was used in Operation Desert Storm. See also Paveway JDAM Overview The JDAM is not a weapon rather it is a "bolt-on" upgrade for unguided gravity bombs installed during build up of the munition by Naval Ordnancemen or Air Force

Operational history

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

The F-117 has been used several times in war. Its first mission was during the United States invasion of Panama in 1989. The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, was the Invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989 ^[23] During that invasion two F-117A Nighthawks dropped two bombs on Rio Hato airfield.

During the 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. ^[24] The F-117 comprised only 2. 5 percent of the American aircraft in Iraq yet struck more than 40 percent of the strategic targets. ^[25] "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. 5 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. "^[24] However, during the war, it performed rather poorly in its dropping of smart bombs on Iraqi military targets, achieving a success rate of only 40%. ^[26]

It was among the only U. S. or coalition aircraft to strike targets in downtown Baghdad. Among the aircraft the Nighthawk shared this distinction with 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. Events 1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. ^[27]

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. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (code-named Operation Allied Force) was NATO 's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF is the official name used by the U The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign

Combat losses

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

One F-117 has been lost in combat, to the Serbian army. Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Buđanovci ( Serbian Cyrillic: Буђановци is a village in Serbia. Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country Land Forces ( Serbian: Копнена Војска - КоВ or Kopnena Vojska - KoV) is the largest and the oldest army branch of Serbia. On 27 March 1999, during the Kosovo War, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under the command of Colonel Zoltan Dani, equipped with the Isayev S-125 'Neve' (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. Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts in Kosovo: 1996–1999 Zoltán Dani ( Serbian Cyrillic: Золтан Дани is a former colonel of the Yugoslav Army and former commander of the 3rd battery of the 250th Missile Brigade ^[28][29] 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. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE) is the central command of NATO Military forces Wesley Kanne Clark, KBE (born December 23 1944 is a retired General of the United States Army. This made them visible on radar screens for short times.

Reportedly several SA-3s were launched, one of which detonated in close proximity 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.

The F-117 pilot survived and was later rescued by U. S. Air Force Pararescue personnel. Pararescuemen ( AFSC 1T2X1 also called PJs (a nickname pronounced 'pee jays' are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC and 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 U. S. stealth technology. ^[30] Since the United States did not destroy the wreckage, the remains can still be seen today at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade close to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport ( Serbian: Аеродром Београд - Никола Тесла or Aerodrom Beograd - Nikola Tesla) is Serbia 's busiest 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, it was made public in 2007 that the actual pilot was Lt Col. Dale Zelko, USAF. ^{[31][32][33][34]}

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 supposedly never flew again. ^[35][36]

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. The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts in Kosovo: 1996–1999 The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign Its stealth technology, while still more advanced than that of any other aircraft except the B-2 Spirit, F-22 and F-35, is maintenance heavy. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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 allow for buying more F-22As. Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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 penetrating weapons capability including the B-2, F-22 and JASSM. The AGM-158 JASSM ( Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) is a Cruise missile developed in the United States. ^[37] 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. ^[38]. This would save an estimated $1. 07 billion^[39].

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

By late 2006, the Air Force had closed the F-117 pilot school,^[40] and announced the retirement of the F-117. ^[41] 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. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 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. "^[42]

Unlike most other Air Force aircraft which are retired to Davis-Monthan AFB, the F-117s are being retired to the Tonopah Test Range. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base adjacent to Tucson, Arizona. For information on the Tonopah Test Range airfield facilities see the article Tonopah Test Range Airport. At Tonopah, their wings will be removed and the aircraft will be stored in their original hangars. ^[42] 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. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[43] The F-117 was retired during ceremonies at Palmdale and Tonopah on 22 April 2008. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[2]

Aircraft on display

The first YF-117A is currently on pedestal display at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada (N36°13'38. 00", W115° 3'33. 28") and can be seen from outside the base from 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 Belgrade Aviation Museum. ^[44]

Specifications

An F-117 conducts a live exercise bombing run using GBU-27 laser-guided bombs.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 69 ft 9 in (20. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. 08 m)
• Wingspan: 43 ft 4 in (13. The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a Bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip 20 m)
• Height: 12 ft 9. 5 in (3. 78 m)
• Wing area: 780 ft² (73 m²)
• Empty weight: 29,500 lb (13,380 kg)
• Loaded weight: 52,500 lb (23,800 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× General Electric F404-F1D2 turbofans, 10,600 lbf (48. The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Evendale Ohio (a Cincinnati suburb WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A turbofan is a type of Jet engine, similar to a Turbojet. It essentially consists of a Ducted fan with a smaller diameter turbojet engine This article deals with the unit of force For the unit of mass see Pound (mass. 0 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 0. In Aviation, V-speeds or Velocity-speeds are standard terms used to define Airspeeds important or useful to the operation of Aircraft, such Mach number (\mathrm{Ma} or M (generally ˈmɑːk sometimes /ˈmɑːx/ or /ˈmæk/ is the speed of an object moving through air or any Fluid 92 (617 mph, 993 km/h)
• Cruise speed: Mach 0. In Aviation, V-speeds or Velocity-speeds are standard terms used to define Airspeeds important or useful to the operation of Aircraft, such 92
• Range: 930 NM^[45] (1720 km)
• Service ceiling 69,000 ft (20,000 m)
• Wing loading: 65 lb/ft² (330 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0. The maximal total range is the distance an Aircraft can fly between Takeoff and Landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft or cross-country A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of Length. It corresponds approximately to one minute of Latitude along any meridian. In Aeronautics, a ceiling is the maximum Density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions In Aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing Thrust-to-weight ratio is as its name suggests the ratio of instantaneous Thrust to Weight (where weight means weight at the Earth ’s surface 40

Armament

• 2× internal weapons bays with one hardpoint each (total of two weapons) equipped to carry:
  • Bombs:
    • BLU-109 hardened penetrator
    • GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
    • GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
    • GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb
    • JDAM INS/GPS guided munition

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. A hardpoint is any part of an Airframe designed to carry an external load See also Paveway JDAM Combat history The GBU-27 was used in Operation Desert Storm. Overview The JDAM is not a weapon rather it is a "bolt-on" upgrade for unguided gravity bombs installed during build up of the munition by Naval Ordnancemen or Air Force An Inertial Navigation System (INS is a Navigation aid that uses a Computer and motion sensors to continuously track the position orientation and Velocity Basic concept of GPS operation A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent by the constellation of GPS Satellites high above the Earth Sprint Nextel Corporation ( is a Telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe - and Emmy Award -winning American WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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. Jane's Information Group (often referred to as Jane's) is a Publishing company specialising in transportation and military topics which was founded by Fred T F-19 is a designation for a United States Fighter aircraft that has never been officially used and has engendered much speculation that it might refer to a type of Modelmakers Testors and Monogram both released hypothetical "F-19 Stealth" models; neither bore any resemblance to the real F-117. Testor Corporation is a manufacturer of model kits tools and accessories based in Rockford Illinois and is part of RPM International INC Beginnings For the film music composer see Graeme Revell. Revell was a company originally founded in 1943 in Venice California. In the 1996 film Executive Decision an airplane called the F-117X is used to transfer an assault team onto another aircraft in midflight. Executive Decision is a 1996 Action film, directed by Stuart Baird and starring Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo An example of the F-117 also featured in the Science fiction film Philadelphia Experiment 2, when a transportation experiment sent the aircraft back in time to Nazi Germany. The Philadelphia Experiment was an alleged naval military experiment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, sometime around October Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

See also

• Facetmobile
  

Related development

• Have Blue
• Sea Shadow
  

Comparable aircraft

• B-2 Spirit
• BAE Replica
  

Related lists

• List of fighter aircraft
• List of Lockheed aircraft
• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of active United States military aircraft
  

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• F-117A Nighthawk U.S Air Force Fact Sheet
• The 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base
• F-117A.com - The "Black Jet" website (a comprehensive site)
• F-117 article and Stealth article on Centennial of Flight web site
• F-117A Nighthawk page on AirAttack.com
• F-117A Nighthawk page on FAS.org
• Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter on Vectorsite.net
• "Filling the Stealth Gap," in Air and Space Power Journal Fall 2006
• The Advent, Evolution, and New Horizons of United States Stealth Aircraft
• "The Secrets of Stealth" on Discovery Military Channel
• Austrian Radar Plots on acig.org
• CNN - U.S. plane shot down, pilot rescued - March 27, 1999
• F-117 Crash at Air Show in Baltimore, 1997
• (German) Austrian article about interception of F-117