The Lockheed
F-117A Night Hawk is a single-seat,
wedge-shaped, V-tailed low observable night
attack fighter with the technology to reduce its
vulnerability to radar detection (stealth).
One of the most important things to get stealth
is RAM Radar-Absorbent-Material.
The basic principle behind
RAM coating is this: the coating contains
carbonyl iron ferrite (special paint using this
material is known as ‘iron ball’ paint). When a
radar wave encounters this coating, it creates a
magnetic field within the metallic elements of
the coating. The field has alternating polarity
and dissipates the energy of a radar signal.
Constructed
primarily of aluminum, the F-117A's fuselage
comprises flat panels known as facets mounted on
the aircraft's subframe, their purpose being to
reflect radar energy away from the transmitter
itself, thus denying the operators a visible
'return'. All surfaces are coated with various
radar absorbent materials. All doors and panels
have serrated edges to further minimize radar
reflection. Grid covers on the intakes and the
use of narrow-slot 'platypus' exhausts
surrounded by heat-absorbing tiles further
reduce the chances of IR detection. Ahead of the
flat-plate five-piece cockpit glazing is a FLIR
sensor, recessed in a mesh-covered housing; in
the forward starboard underfuselage there is a
retractable DLIR and laser designator. These
sensors are used in conjunction with LGBs, two
of which can be carried in the double-section
weapons bay.
The F-117A is
not intended for air-to-air combat, its purpose
to deliver ordnance (precision-guided bombs) in
a dense threat environment against targets of
extremely high value.
During 1975,
Lockheed's Skunk Work engineers began working on
an aircraft which would have a greatly reduced
radar cross section that would make it all but
invisible to enemy radars. This was the
beginning of the project Have Blue.
Have Blue were
two 60-percent scale flyable test aircraft. The
first aircraft was intended to evaluate the
type's flying characteristics, the second was to
evaluate the radar signature. Lockheed did give
the aircraft its own manufacturer's serial
numbers ..-1001 en ..-1002, meaning Plant 10,
aircraft numbers 1 and 2.
The first
flight of the Have Blue took place in January or
February 1978 (the exact date is classified)
from Groom Lake Test Facility in Nevada in high
secrecy. On May 4, 1978, Have Blue prototype
number 1001 was landing after a routine test
flight when it hits the ground very hard,
jamming the right main landing gear in a
semi-retracted position. Pilot Bill Park pulled
the aircraft back in the air, and repeatedly
tried to shake the gear back down again. After
his third attempt failed, the pilot was ordered
to eject. The Have Blue aircraft was destroyed
in the crash.
Have Blue 1002
arrived at Groom Lake shortly after the loss of
number 1001. It took the air for the first time
in June of 1978. During its 52nd flight one of
the J85 engines caught fire. The fire was so
intense that the hydraulic fluid lines were
burned through. The pilot was forced to eject,
and the 1002 was a total loss.
The F-117A had
the same general configuration of the Have Blue
test aircraft, but was much larger and heavier
and was provided with an offensive military
capability. Lockheed used F-16 flight control
computers, F-18 cockpit displays and C-130
environmental systems. The first flight was on
June 18, 1981. Lockheed test-pilot Harold C
Farley made a successful first flight in number
780. The 59th and last Night Hawk was delivered
on July 12, 1990.
Lockheed
F-117A Night Hawk crashes:
Aircraft
number
80-0785
was ready for his first flight on April 20,1982
unbeknownst to anyone, the fly-by-wire system
had been hooked up incorrectly (pitch was yaw
and visa versa) and the plane crashed.
On July
11,1986, Major Ross E.Mulhare (aircraft number
80-0792) flew
into a mountain near Bakersfield, California the
cause of the crash has never been officially
revealed, but fatigue and disorientation during
night flying has been identified as a probable
cause. Major Ross E.Mulhare died in the crash.
On October
14,1987 Major Michael C Stewart crashed (F-117A
number 85-0815)
in the Nellis range just east of Tonopah,
Nevada, disorientation en fatigue are the
problem of these crashes. Major Michael C
Stewart died in the crash.
F-117A
82-0801
crashed
August 4, 1992
near La Luz, New Mexico, pilot ejected safely.
An Air Force
F-117A Nighthawk (86-0822)
from the 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB, N.M.,
crashed 7 miles south of Zuni, New Mexico, May
10, 1995. The pilot, Capt. Kenneth W. Levens,
9th Fighter Squadron, was killed in the crash.
The stealth was on a training mission when the
accident occurred.
81-10793 an Air Force F-117A Nighthawk
crashed September 14, 1997 while performing a
fly-by demonstration for an airshow at Martin
State Airport, 12 miles northeast of Baltimore.
The pilot, Maj. Bryan Knight, safely ejected. He
suffered minor injuries. Four people on the
ground were injured and 10 families displaced by
the crash, which caused extensive fire damage to
several homes and vehicles. There were no
fatalities or serious injuries.
F-117A
(82-0806/HO) was shot down (March 27, 1999) by a
SA-6 missile in Serbian near by Budjanovci. The
pilot was ejected safely, a Combat Search and
Rescue-team of the USAF brought the pilot back
by his squadron.
