Air Force with several of its attack aircraft since the late 1950s, including the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark.
However, the resulting design would make the aircraft aerodynamically unstable, and the state of computer technology in the early 1960s could not provide the kinds of flight computers which would later allow aircraft such as the F-117 and B-2 Spirit to stay airborne.
Dixon, a four-star Air Force general who was the head of Tactical Air Command felt that the top-notch USAF fighter pilots required to fly the new aircraft were more easily attracted to an aircraft with an "F" designation for fighter, as opposed to a bomber ("B") or attack ("A") designation. The designation "F-117" seems to indicate that it was given an official designation prior to the 1962 U.S.
By the 1970s, when Lockheed analyst Denys Overholser found Ufimtsev's paper, computers and software had advanced significantly, and the stage was set for the development of a stealth airplane. The F-117 was born after the Vietnam War, where increasingly sophisticated Soviet surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) had downed heavy bombers.
The heavy losses inflicted by Soviet-made SAMs upon the Israeli air force in the 1973 Yom Kippur war also contributed to a 1974 Defense Science Board assessment that in case of a conflict in Central Europe, air defenses would likely prevent NATO air strikes on targets in Eastern Europe. It was a black project, an ultra-secret program for much of its life; very few people in the Pentagon knew the program even existed.
The heavy losses inflicted by Soviet-made SAMs upon the Israeli air force in the 1973 Yom Kippur war also contributed to a 1974 Defense Science Board assessment that in case of a conflict in Central Europe, air defenses would likely prevent NATO air strikes on targets in Eastern Europe. It was a black project, an ultra-secret program for much of its life; very few people in the Pentagon knew the program even existed.
The project began in 1975 with a model called the "Hopeless Diamond" (a wordplay on the Hope Diamond because of its appearance).
A May 1975 Skunk Works report, "Progress Report No.
By bringing together existing technology and components, Lockheed built two demonstrators under budget, at $35 million for both aircraft, and in record time. The maiden flight of the demonstrators occurred on 1 December 1977.
Much of that increase was allocated towards the production of an operational stealth aircraft, the Lockheed F-117A, under the program code name "Senior Trend". === Senior Trend === The decision to produce the F-117A was made on 1 November 1978, and a contract was awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, popularly known as the Skunk Works, in Burbank, California.
The 4450th Tactical Group stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada were tasked with the operational development of the early F-117, and between 1981 (prior to the arrival of the first models) and 1989 they used LTV A-7 Corsair IIs for training, to bring all pilots to a common flight training baseline and later as chase planes for F-117A tests. The F-117 was secret for much of the 1980s.
The Nighthawk's maiden flight took place in 1981 at Groom Lake, Nevada, and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983.
The three 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 aircraft. The first YF-117A, serial number 79-10780, made its maiden flight from Groom Lake ("Area 51"), Nevada, on 18 June 1981, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision.
The 4450th Tactical Group stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada were tasked with the operational development of the early F-117, and between 1981 (prior to the arrival of the first models) and 1989 they used LTV A-7 Corsair IIs for training, to bring all pilots to a common flight training baseline and later as chase planes for F-117A tests. The F-117 was secret for much of the 1980s.
The first production F-117A was delivered in 1982, and operational capability was achieved in October 1983.
The Nighthawk's maiden flight took place in 1981 at Groom Lake, Nevada, and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983.
The first production F-117A was delivered in 1982, and operational capability was achieved in October 1983.
When an F-117 crashed in Sequoia National Forest in July 1986, killing the pilot and starting a fire, the Air Force established restricted airspace.
When another fatal crash in October 1987 occurred inside Nellis, the military again provided little information to the press. The Air Force denied the existence of the aircraft until 10 November 1988, when Assistant Secretary of Defense J.
The aircraft was shrouded in secrecy until it was revealed to the public in 1988.
When another fatal crash in October 1987 occurred inside Nellis, the military again provided little information to the press. The Air Force denied the existence of the aircraft until 10 November 1988, when Assistant Secretary of Defense J.
The 4450th Tactical Group stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada were tasked with the operational development of the early F-117, and between 1981 (prior to the arrival of the first models) and 1989 they used LTV A-7 Corsair IIs for training, to bring all pilots to a common flight training baseline and later as chase planes for F-117A tests. The F-117 was secret for much of the 1980s.
In April 1990, two F-117 aircraft were flown into Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, arriving during daylight and publicly displayed to a crowd of tens of thousands. Five Full Scale Development (FSD) aircraft were built, designated "YF-117A".
The last of 59 production F-117s were delivered on 3 July 1990. 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...
Of the 64 F-117s built, 59 were production versions, with the other five being prototypes. The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Persian Gulf War of 1991.
F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia, where one was shot down and another severely damaged by surface-to-air missiles (SAM) in 1999.
Air Force retired the F-117 in April 2008, primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor.
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