Lockheed Martin- F-117 Night Hawk

Quick Summary

• First ever Stealth aircraft, deadly accurate attacker
• Up to 5,500 lbs carried internally in 2 bays. Usually carries the GBU-10 GBU-27 and BLU-109, has provisions to carry 2 AIM-9L Sidewinders
• Mach 1 (estimated), Ceiling: CLASSIFIED Range: 750mi
• Two non afterburning GE F404-GE-F12D engines

The F-117 Night Hawk is the first stealth aircraft ever to be put into production. The first F-117A was delivered in 1982, and the last delivery was in the summer of 1990. The F-117A 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. 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 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 F-117A is kept at the forefront of technology through a planned weapon system improvement program located at USAF Plant 42 at Palmdale, Calif. The F-117 was devestating in the Gulf War although it only dropped a small amount to bombs in the war. When the Night Hawk made raids on Bahgdad with deadly accurate precision weapons which attacked all sorts of command bunkers, radars, troop installations. One reason why they flew in and out of Bahgdad unharmed is because of "stealth", what it basically is is a special made composite material named RAM (radar obsorbing material) which obsorbed the radar waves which were used to find enemy aircraft, well they didnt detect this one. The Iraqis did fire in all directions and there was a chance that they could have hit the F-117 but it never happened. Not much is actually known about the F117A such as full armanent and speed, but so far have dropped bombs on all of their targets with a 97% success rate and one has not been lost during a mission. (Planes have been lost in night training and other such assignments. Its dimensions are Span: 43ft. Length: 65ft. 11 in. Height: 12ft. 5in. Wing area (estimated): 913 sq. ft.