Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk - Top Secret Stealth Origins

Stealth technology, which seemed impossible, took shape with the introduction of the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk. To say that it is an unconventional aircraft is to say nothing. Its appearance cannot be left unnoticed. The resulting diamond shape design surprised and puzzled even experienced pilots. A Royal Air Force pilot who flew it as an exchange officer stated that when he first saw a photograph of the still-secret F-117, he “promptly giggled and thought to himself ’this clearly can’t fly’“. However, the result had exceeded all expectations. Its shape was created focusing on low-observability rather than aerodynamics. Aerodynamically unstable in all three aircraft principal axes it used a computer to maintain controlled flight. The Nighthawk development was shrouded in secrecy rivaling that of the Manhattan Project. For more than 10 years it was one of the most classified airplanes. This caused a lot of challenges. After the Vietnam war the US was concentrated on high maneuverability and implementation of new technologies in the aircraft and the USSR chose another way. The sophisticated Soviet surface-to-air missile systems, inflicted serious casualties upon the Israeli air force in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. The Israeli Air Force lost 109 aircraft in 18 days. In the 1970s, it became increasingly apparent to US planners that, in a military confrontation with Warsaw Pact forces, NATO aircraft would quickly suffer heavy losses. Consequently, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) started a study on low-observability aircraft, seeking to design and produce an operational stealth airplane. The DARPA did not invite Lockheed, as they had been absent from the fighter aircraft industry for 10 years. However, Ed Martin, Lockheed California Companies director of science and engineering, while working at the Pentagon became aware of the research. Ed Martin and Ben Rich, who was the Skunk Works’ president at that time, briefed Clarence “Kelly“ Johnson on the program. This engineer contributed a lot to the designs of the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird. The CIA gave Skunk Works permission to discuss stealth research with the DARPA. After a formal request the DARPA refused Lockheed to participate in the program because of insufficient funding. After much debate, Lockheed was allowed entry, albeit without a government contract. The aircraft designers Dick Scherrer and Denys Overholser discovered that the right shape to low radar cross-section (RCS) would be an aircraft with flat surfaces. Scherrer subsequently drew a preliminary low-RCS aircraft with faceted surfaces. During the next few weeks, the team created a computer program which could evaluate the RCS of possible designs. The RCS-prediction software was called “ECHO 1“. However, many within the division were skeptical of the shape, giving rise to the name “Hopeless Diamond“. In April 1976, Lockheed won the competition and “Hopeless Diamond” turned into “Have Blue“ testing program. As “Have Blue” contract was let, the project was transferred over to Air Force System Command control and became highly “black,” with all information about it being highly classified and restricted to those with a need to know. Outside of a few people at Lockheed and the Defense Department, no one knew that “Have Blue” even existed. Although its index F means that it’s supposed to be fighter, the F-117 was designed to be an attack aircraft. This is an inconsistency that had been repeatedly employed by the U.S. Air Force with several of its attack aircraft since the late 1950s, including the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark. The Nighthawk’s performance in air combat maneuvering required in a dogfight would never match that of a dedicated fighter. The Nighthawk was secret for much of the 1980s. Many news articles discussed what they called an “F-19“ stealth fighter, and the Testor Corporation produced a very inaccurate scale model. The Air Force denied the existence of the aircraft until 10 November 1988. After 25 years of service in 2008, the F-117 Nighthawk, the Air Force’s first stealth fighter, was retired. However, two F-117s were sighted flying low in April 2023, 15 years after it had been retired. For all these years F-117 Nighthawk truly owned the night. Enjoy the Video!!! @alexduckwellchannel?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc All images used in this video are considered to be the public domain hosted on: ; ; ; . Thank you all!!!! The other images and animation are created in Blender. 00:00 Introduction 01:12 Post Vietman experience 02:45 DARPA research start 04:04 Diamond shape 05:33 Raven not a hawk 06:06 Have Blue 08:16 F-117 production 10:02 A fighter 10:36 Darkest secrets 12:13 The secret uncovered 12:57 Retirement?