Recently active in red flag exercises -...
Recently active in red flag exercises - https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/35748/f-117-nighthawks-now-appear-to-be-flying-as-adversaries-in-red-flag-aerial-war-games
I wonder if the extreme stealth design focus on the F117 makes them still more stealthy than a F35, given that the F35 has to cover all the other combat attributes the singular purpose f117 lacks. Or is modern steath tech so good that the f35 can cover all the bases and be more stealthy. If the F35 shape has unbeatable stealth one can see why theyre still used for excercises/testing etc. Coll to see thyre still flying, wonder what it takes to get them back in the air, and where they find the people with the know how.
Think of the F-117 as a proof of concept. Technology has moved significantly. Part is the stealth radar signature, part is the ability to manage/defend threats if detected, and part is the ability to coordinate with other assets or how much one needs to rely on other assets. The F-117 is still a good benchmark and would do the job under some circumstances, but is no longer cutting edge.
To keep the 117 flying is a testament to it tech..even though is over 30 years old now. Quite an impressive plane to say the least. Maybe there are things about it we still don't know about and that's why they continue to use it as a bench mark. As far as the SR-71 flying again..I would think thats a no go. I dont think they could even make the fuel for it anymore. But man I would I love to see her go just one more time.
Except for the airframe and the FLIR/DLIR, the F-117A used mostly off the shelf components so they could get it into production quickly. They used good stuff, so it worked fine.
Likely still classified whether or not they actually did that. Newer generation coatings are much easier to maintain and longer lasting.
F-117 being delivered to Hill AFB museum - #799 - pics courtesy of Hill Aerospace Museum Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
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Thanks for the photos. It looks so odd seeing it in that form with the zinc yellow/chromate (or whatever new non-carcinogenic coating used) in those areas. It makes it look more man-made that way rather than something extra-terrestrial in its usual form...
"No way Jose; that ain't no regular black paint......that stuff cost over a million bucks a gallon....all the guys who painted it are dead now.....some serious **** there......"
F-117A - #833. It flew 75 combat missions/30 Desert Storm/45 Allied Force, and was also the 49th Fighter Wing Commanders aircraft. It is the second highest combat mission plane in the F-117A fleet. Headed to Palm Springs Air Museum first week of October.
Better than being turned into beer cans, which happened to most of my F-111s because they may have had parts the Iranians could have used on their F-14s.
A pair made a stop at Miramar this week, likely involved in exercises off the coast: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37210/check-out-these-close-up-shots-of-f-117s-deployed-to-miramar
If you updated the coatings on an F-117A, you would have a very respectable LO platform for testing radars and emulating LO cruise missiles. Not hard to do with all those planar surfaces.
I wonder if the pilots' identities are required to be under wraps except for the small group that maintain and operate those for security reasons. Entire thing seems very secretive so probably limiting it to just that would be best...
Ah-HA! Word on what they are using F-117's for in 2021. From Aviation Week: https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/afa-air-space-cyber-conference/retired-f-117s-fly-cruise-missiles-training Aviation Week Retired F-117s Fly As ‘Cruise Missiles’ For Training
I’m pretty sure they make pretty good adversaries for F-35s and F-22s doing long range radar work. Certainly a lot better than a Hog or an Eagle.
Will- Affirmative, great LO target. The 64th Aggressors just got F-35As to use in Red Flags and OT&E, so that should give some interesting results, all likely classified. The F-117A would also make a good test bird for new LO materials with its planar surfaces.