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Message: <blockquote data-quote="L-smacker" data-source="post: 9181419" data-attributes="member: 263267">[SIZE=+1]F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter<img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/inventors/1/0/_/G/f_117a.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Nighthawk Background[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]The  first F-117A Nighthawk was delivered in 1982, and the last delivery was  in the summer of 1990. The Nighthawk production decision was made in  1978 with a contract awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects,  the "Skunk Works," in Burbank, Calif. The first flight was in 1981, only  31 months after the full-scale development decision. Air Combat  Command's only F-117A unit, the 4450th Tactical Group, (now the 49th  Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.), achieved operational  capability in October 1983.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]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 Nighthawk program  has demonstrated that a stealth aircraft can be designed for reliability  and maintainability. The aircraft maintenance statistics are comparable  to other tactical fighters of similar complexity. Logistically  supported by Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan AFB, Calif., the  Nighthawk is kept at the forefront of technology through a planned  weapon system improvement program located at USAF Plant 42 at Palmdale,  Calif.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]Nighthawk History[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Extracted From F-117A Nighthawk to fly at Air Expo '01[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]by Nick Minecci[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]NAS PATUXENT RIVER PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]Officially named F-117A  Nighthawk, but better known to the world as the stealth fighter, the  Nighthawk made its combat debut Dec. 19, 1989, when six F-117As left  their base in Nevada, headed for Panama. Two of the F-117As were turned  back when their mission was canceled, two flew as back-up and returned  to base when it was seen they were not needed, and the last pair flew to  the Central American nation in support of U.S. combat operations in  progress.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]The stealth fighter would earn  fame, however, over a year later when several struck deep into the  heart of Iraq, striking Baghdad live on television during the opening  hours of Operation Desert Storm. Throughout the Gulf War, the F-117As  would be assigned the toughest and highest priority targets, including  SAM and SCUD launchers, radar sites, Iraqi command/control/  communications facilities, bridges, and hardened aircraft shelters and  bunkers.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]By the end of the war the  stealth fighter had performed over 40 percent of the allies' strategic  bombing raids in more than 1,200 sorties, delivering more than 2,000  tons of ordnance without the loss of a single plane. Not one was even  fired upon as the revolutionary plane flew into the aviation history  books.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]The F-117A Nighthawk began its  life in 1978 when Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, famously  known as "Skunk Works," was awarded the contract to develop an aircraft  that would be almost invisible to radar. The prototype flew the same  year, but was lost when the pilot had to eject at 10,000 feet over the  Nevada desert. The second prototype was more successful and achieved as  near a state of radar invisibility as possible.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]In 1981, 31 months after the  decision was made to go ahead with full-scale development the first  flight of the super-secret plane was made, and in October 1983 the Air  Force's only F-117A unit, the 4450th Tactical Group (now designated the  45th Fighter Wing) achieved operational capability.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]The F-117A Nighthalk is a  unique aircraft, with its surfaces and edge profiles optimized to  reflect enemy radar away from the radar detectors. Coated with radar  absorbing materials, the radar cross-section of the F-117A has been  estimated at between 10 and 100 square cm, or about the size of a small  bird, making it nearly invisible to enemy air defenses.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]Close in size to the <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltomcat.htm" target="_blank">F-14 Tomcat</a>,  the Nighthawk is powered by a pair of 48 k-N General Electric  F404-GE-F1D2 turbofans, which are derivatives of the F404-GE-400 engines  used to power the <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blf_18.htm" target="_blank">F/A-18 Hornet</a>.  To keep the aircraft as invisible as possible, the engine exhaust area  is wide and flat, with the air intakes on both sides of the fuselage  covered by gratings coated with radar absorbent material. The  Nighthawk's two large tail fins lean outwards, obstructing infrared and  radar returns of the engine exhaust area.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]The Nighthawk has a one-man  crew, and the cockpit is outfitted with a Kaiser Electronics heads-up  display (HUD). The flight deck is equipped with a large video monitor  displaying infrared images from the plane's onboard sensors and a  full-color moving map developed by the Harris Corporation.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]To keep the plane as invisible  as possible to enemy detection the F-117A does not rely on radar for  navigation or targeting. The plane is equipped with a forward-looking  infrared (FLIR) and a downward looking infrared (DLIR) with a laser  designator, and uses a Honeywell inertial navigation system.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]Along the front of the  aircraft are multi-channel pitot-static tubes, with multiple ports along  the length of the tubes that provide differential pressure readings  that the flight control computers compare to provide the Nighthawk's  flight data.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]When going into battle, the  F-117A can carry up to 4,000 pounds and a variety of weapons in the  internal weapons bay, including the BLU-109B low-level laser guided  bomb, <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blguided.htm" target="_blank">GBU-10</a> and <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blguided.htm" target="_blank">GBU-27</a> laser-guided bomb units and the AGM-65 and AGM-88 HARM air-to-surface missiles[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]The F-117A's top speed has  been released as high subsonic, with its cruising speed as 684 mph. The  Nighthawk has an unlimited range for operations when using aerial  refueling.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]Mission[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]The F-117A Nighthawk is the world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]Nighthawk Features[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]The unique design of the single-seat F-117A Nighthawk provides exceptional combat capabilities. About the size of an <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blF_15_Eagle.htm" target="_blank">F-15 Eagle</a>,  the twin-engine aircraft is powered by two General Electric F404  turbofan engines and has quadruple redundant fly-by-wire flight  controls. Air refuelable, it supports worldwide commitments and adds to  the deterrent strength of the U.S. military forces.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]The F-117A can employ a  variety of weapons and is equipped with sophisticated navigation and  attack systems integrated into a state-of-the-art digital avionics suite  that increases mission effectiveness and reduces pilot workload.  Detailed planning for missions into highly defended target areas is  accomplished by an automated mission planning system developed,  specifically, to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the  F-117A.[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-1]General Characteristics[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Primary Function: Fighter/attack[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Contractor: Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co.[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Power Plant: Two General Electric F404 engines[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Length: 65 feet, 11 inches (20.3 meters)[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Height: 12 feet, 5 inches (3.8 meters)[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Weight: 52,500 pounds (23,625 kilograms)[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Wingspan: 43 feet, 4 inches (13.3 meters)[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Speed: High subsonic[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Range: Unlimited with air refueling[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Armament: Internal weapons carriage[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Unit Cost: $45 million[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Crew: One[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Date Deployed: 1982[/SIZE]  [SIZE=-1]Inventory: Active force, 54; ANG, 0; Reserve, 0[/SIZE]    [SIZE=-2]Image Provided by U.S.A.F.[/SIZE]    <a href="http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.f%2D117a.com/" target="_blank">[SIZE=-1]F-117A: The Black Jet[/SIZE]</a>  [SIZE=-1]The F-117A Nighthawk, the world's first stealth fighter.[/SIZE]    <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa092501a.htm" target="_blank">[SIZE=-1]Weapons of Operation Enduring Freedom[/SIZE]</a>  [SIZE=-1]The history behind some of the jets and weapons being used in today's military conflicts.[/SIZE]</blockquote>

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