F-117 stealth fighters to make final flight no one will know about
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted March 11th 2008 10:12PM
posted March 11th 2008 10:12PM
posted March 11th 2008 10:12PM
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One of my coworkers previously worked B1's before his current assignment. He said they were very costly to maintain. I'd put money on that plane getting axed in 5-10 years.
UCAVs are the future. I got to help out with the UCAV aerial refueling program, and I think it's going to be a great asset to the military.
Many refer to the F-117 as a "fighter" and it certainly is not. With no guns or missiles, it's a lightweight bomber since all it carries are two laser guided bombs.
my favorite bomber.
i used to make mission with it in Jane's "Fighters Anthology".
i also made a couple of plastic models (they are awesome).
It made its last appearance in Cloverfield =/
"We'll miss you, F-117, and all the totally awesome, completely secret stuff you did"
Yes, like bombing innocent women and children...
oh how we glorify machines built for the single purpose of killing a fellow human being. Only in this case, its killing several at a time in a big ball of flames.
So crashed is a fancy way of saying shot-down?!
Just wanted to let some of you know that the F-22 is meant to kill 2 birds with one stone. It is not only replacing the F-117, but the F-15 at the same time. If I remember watching the Military/Discovery channel shows correctly, it outperforms the F-15 in almost every aspect, and it has stealth capabilities beyond the F-117.
I will miss seeing this at air shows. I know the F-22 is better in almost every way, but the F-117 will be missed. I remember the first Aviation Week and Space Technology photo of it and what a big deal it was when it was published.
The thing is that the F-117 was equipped with obsolete technology as soon as it was produced. Besides things like the shape of the aircraft and the stealthy FLIR, all the internal components were an amalgam of parts borrowed from other aircraft. The engines are from the F/A-18, the wheels are from the T-38, it uses components from aircraft that were long ago retired and the air force has to scrounge around for them. Also the radar cross section is only effective for combat in a head on and then aft position, so it has to fly pretty much straight at a radar site. Finally it doesn't have enough range or speed, wasn't used in Afghanistan because it simply could not fly far enough. the raptor will solve all those problems, and in time should ultimately cost less due to simplified logistics and shared costs with the rest of the fleet. The F-117 was a great and powerful plane, but it is time to rest its tired wings.
Sorry, we didn’t know it was invisible
- Serbian Air Force and Air Defense
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/583253/f_117a_sorry_we_didnt_know_that_it_was_invisible/
it was only shot down due to poor planning. The plane overflew the same area many times, so the serbs were able to shoot it down by concentrating fire. One of the most unappreciated aspects of stealth is that it involves excellent planning or else it is useless.
Just to answer a couple questions:
Unstable aircraft - most modern fighter (I know the f-117 was not a fighter) aircraft are inherently unstable. This is desirable. A very simplistic explanation is that an unstable aircraft wants to go in every direction at the same time where as a stable aircraft wants to go in the same direction. It is quicker to LET an unstable aircraft go in the direction you want than it is to MAKE a stable aircraft go in the direct you want.
Why so many crashed – Several crashed before the existence was ever publicized. The plane was meant to fly at night with only passive sensors which means pretty much blind and very dangerous at low altitude.
Was it worth it – When it was created it was an incredible accomplishment. Remember this was nearly 30 years ago. It’s capabilities are still nearly unmatched in several areas. It’s bombing accuracy was scary.
FYI – They have had one at the Air Force Museum, for a long time, as well as a SR-71 and the only XB-70. If you have never been to the museum in Dayton Ohio it is an unbelievable place.
I shall miss this old friend.
let's salute Steven Seagal and his taking-one-for-the-team in Executive Decision.
I'm sad to see it go, but it's a good call. Out with the old, ridiculously overpriced.
F-22s kill. The first time I saw an F-22 fly, then go into a 20 second stationary nose-up hover using it's vectored thrust at an air show, I fell in love. It felt like I was watching a UFO! They're LOUD, much louder than anything else I've heard fly out of Hill Air Force Base.
I'm still amazed it could fly at all considering that angular design. Well, it's old tech now, so it's time to put it in the military aircraft graveyard. I'm kinda curious to see how soon they end up on eBay.
What a beautiful plane, it's sad that what it looks like the future, is now the past.
Great plane but when did you guys actually win a war? The US has more money, more technology, more scientists, etc. than anyone else in the world. In spite of this you simply can't win a war!
12% of these planes crashed? Are you kidding me? (from tg daily.com) Each F-117 cost approximately $45 million dollars while the plane’s replacement, the F-22 Raptor, costs approximately $200 MILLION each. I hope the replacement has a better flight record.
Somewhere, there are a bunch of billionaires laughing their asses off. What a joke! What a JOKE!