The F-117 Nighthawk's SECRET post-retirement operations!
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- The F-117 Nighthawk was the world's first operational stealth aircraft, ushering in a revolution in airpower that continues to this very day.
But after 25 years of service, the F-117 Nighthawk's career came to a close in 2008 when the aircraft was officially retired... Or at least, that was the story.
It turns out, claims that the Nighthawk was retiring were greatly exaggerated. Let's dive into the timeline of F-117 sightings post-retirement, the claims that it saw combat in 2017, and why the Air Force now plans to keep the Nighthawk flying all the way to 2034.
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Citations:
Tyler Rogoway's story on Nighthawks in Syria for The Warzone:
- www.thedrive.c...
- / yep-f-117-stealth-figh...
- www.key.aero/a...
- theaviationist...
- jalopnik.com/w...
- theaviationgee...
- www.reviewjour...
John Pike Quote: www.reviewjour...
Rogoway coverage in Jalopnik: jalopnik.com/w...
- www.lazygranch...
- theaviationist...
- theaviationist...
Scramble Magazine Claim:
- / 2670767592949758
Wagner & Syrian troops vs US SOF:
- coffeeordie.co...
- www.cfr.org/ar...
- www.cfr.org/gl...
- www.armscontro...
- www.npr.org/20...
- www.reuters.co...
- fas.org/issues...
- obamawhitehous...
Nighthawk tally in storage:
- www.thedrive.c...
- www.thedrive.c...
- www.thedrive.c...
- theaviationist...
- aviationweek.c...
- sam.gov/opp/04...
RUclips Videos Shown:
- • F-117 Flying Again!!
As a former Crew Chief on the F-117 of nearly 12 years, it still comes as no suprise that they are still flying. The aircraft has many very specifiic capabilities and characteristics that make it totally unique in the low observable aircraft of the world. The F35 and F22 amazing stealth aircraft but were never designed solely to bomb high value targets with pin point accuracy. The Nighthawk was.
To paraphrase a quote in a certain movie
" They have a very specific set of skills"
Absolutely. The "B"-117 has one... and one job only, and it does it well.
The f35 is absolutely capable of doing that
Maybe with new RAM, the F-117 could be much more low observable as it were.
@@kameronjones7139 Yes it can do that, but it was NEVER built to do just that.. Like ALL multi-role fighters ,it does so with compromises that the F-117A did not need to make since it was PURPOSE built for that mission. Had an stealth aircraft been purpose built with late '90's early 2000's technology like the F-35 has, our adversaries would be a LOT more cautious. Thankfully, with the block 5 upgrades to the F-35 it will get even better. Better yet, the B-21 program!
Thanks for your service! That answer makes sense.
For me personally, this plane is right up there with the SR-71 in sheer coolness factor.
wrong
@@dominien6487 Nice to know that you know what someone personally feels better than themselves. 😂
I might say that it is even cooler than the black bird.
I remember the first gulf War and how dominant it was.
There was no answer for it.
It's like a Ferrari for the sky
Too right!
It's nice to know that for as expensive as the F-117 was, it is still a useful asset.
they were quit cheap considering they were groundbreaking first of their kind aircraft 40 mill per aircraft , they were developed and delivered on time .. which is amazing tbh .
10/10 name
and great to troll Alien conspiracy nut jobs too. Lol
you bet they're going to get their money's worth out of these one of a kind planes. 99% of countries still don't have anything comparable, Russia certainly doesn't, China kind of does. And it was designed in like the late 1970s
It was really an excellent investment that continues to pay dividends. And many of its parts are present in other US aircraft (the avionics, the engines, etc.) so it's operating costs will be kept relatively low.
And just like the B-52, SR-71, and U-2, the nighthawk has unique capabilities that are still needed by the US.
SR-71 is retired
.....and the A10. Not so much the SR 71. A program that cost 30 billion for a plane that had a service life of 5 years.
I'm guessing that with the B-52 it's a matter of being easier to upgrade that design & build a modern bomber. There hasn't been a fear of war against a peer power for a while.
@@recoil53 While the Buff has been in service, the B-58, F-111 (yeah, I know, but it's role is just as a bomber), and B1 will have come and gone.
Many Aussies feel that way about the F-111.
We lived not far from an air force base when I was 13.
We saw so many B-52, B-2, F-117 F-15 and F16.
I always ran to the window when I heard them. Seeing those futuristic looking planes was amazing. :)
I've never seen a b-2 before, that's a dream aircraft to see
@@amazin7006 I've seen a few flying low over me out in California
It's truly like no other aircraft. You don't really hear it until it's on top of you and not only is it stealthy, it's also super thin and hard to see from the ground when it's flying low
As a child I got excited seeing Sabre Jets flying nearby.
"The Black Jet" is so iconic that even though it was an attack plane and no actual stealth fighters look like the F117 we all still refer to anything black with sharp angles as "looking like a stealth fighter".
With improved stealth coatings F-117 is probably still one of hardest targets to detect.
Chances are those aircraft that was supposed to be scrapped got new systems and new coatings..
So technically they where scrapped but given new designation.
@@mr6johnclark so... F-117-B ?
@@PrograError I'd go with F-19
Hmm, i wonder how much of a flying jeep, (like the skyhawk), the f117 is, its likely, that unlike most high performance modern stealthy aircraft, the f117, structure allows for a lot of upgrading, and new equipment for one thing, because of its faceted surface it makes it perfect for solid state surface mounted planier arrays. With modern battle networking, and a prime em detection suite, linked to an extensive flat panel em array, the nighthawk Could be a useful stand off radar killer to compliment the growler in sead missions.
@@evilshews Would make a great growler partner and AWACS support. Kind of like a invisible network repeater but with more fuck.
It’s mind bending. The F117 still has a smaller radar signal. Than Russia & China’s most advanced Fighter Jets. And the Night Hawk is more that 40 years old? Holy? 😮
The advantage of spending decades developing a technology over stealing or copying it.
Given the age, the engineers assigned to the project probably had to spend so much time working out the precise geometry of the hull panels, without modern cad, that they get ptsd from watching childrens shows about simple shapes
@@ravengrey6874 Plus, R&D for stealth aircraft is expensive, which Russia hasn't been able to afford for a while and which China has only recently been able to start to afford.
Interesting fun fact. The mathematical equations to make the F 117 design were gotten from a Russian mathematician. That makes it even funnier.
And serbian shot down stelt,sory dont no is stelt😂😂
@@nasabielas Yep. however that equation wasn't usefull until they found an optimal algorithm to utilize it correctly and made it modeling possible.
Still more stealthy than SU57 (plus more than a handful exist) 😂
5:18 he said it. 🤣
More stealthy than BOTH thr Su-57 and J-20 which both Russia and China boast about... That's gotta be one of the biggest "oof" moments in aviation when those Communist fighters their governments brag about can be considered inferior from a plane made decades ago. 🙃
I have to remind you, this plane was shot down by Yugoslavia back in 1999' over Belgrade 😂
@@stefanm5636 ruclips.net/video/5CvdMbWGHTA/видео.html
(Im not saying its stealther then the su 57 i mean not a single one has been spotted outside of airshows thats how good they are)
Exactly one was shot down. With an extremely specific set of circumstances that are unlikely to be repeated, chief among them complancey by the military leading to a very predictable flight profile.
I really love the Nighthawk. It was my favorite plane when I was a kid.
still is my favorite
It still remains one of my favorites of all time when I was a kid I was and still am fascinated with it's shape.
@@lyrooo326 me to
I love to hear we are making good use of older aircraft. This one in particular has some good shelf life left if you ask me
Oddly enough I think it still has the smallest radar cross section of any aircraft. I know that's daw from the only thing that matters in stealth but it still is impressive.
@@tmi1234567 well... modern stealth all do it with "tricks". F117 is designed as if it's made of sheet metal. (It's not. But designed without use of modern computer)
@@PrograError Could a modernized F-117 potentially be stealthier than the F-22?
@@totalnerd5674 potentially.
But I ain't an expert, just had some basic knowledge from the documentaries... either way it's all bout the RCS and how they armed it... You could have RCS of the RU Felon and still be relative stealthy due to design and armament ( it's not... It's too much of a kite anyway)
Agree
It would seem to me that the F-117 would be an ideal test bed for next generation RAM. Since it’s RCS is well established the efficiency of new RAM could be easily evaluated
I bet that the polygonal nature of its design makes it easier to mount panels of RAM, no need to form it like on all the other stealth aircraft.
Best journalistic material out there.
The 117 has features and benefits not matched by the F35 JSF & F22 Raptor.
Operational cost of 117A is far less than the F22 and it’s reliability and awesome 360 degree stealth characteristics is a great choice in specific theaters.
Basically it's a baby B2, and that can be great when you need some sneakiness but not the insane price tags.
@@sethb3090 Weren't the B2 and B-52 series of planes known for their high flight cost? Definitely makes sense to keep a cheaper and equally as effective alternative sitting in wait in case it's needed for something that doesn't warrant the flight cost of the B-52 or the B2 Spirit/B-21 Raider.
@@sethb3090 Plus if you think about it, B2s aren't so stealthy with the huge logistics needed to support them.
The tankers alone would give them away.
Of the entire US stealth fleet, the 117 is the one that is best-suited to risk its sensitive technology over sensitive territory. As the video alluded to, if the 117 comes down, the 22, 35, and B-2's tech won't be compromised.
@@WesternUranus You do realize that the F117 needs about as the same level of ground support to keep them stealthy as the B2 does.
Plus, who in the hell is identifying a tanker at 4000 nautical miles? That's less than the distance between New York & London. Unless somebody has developed an orbital AWACS, nobody is going to see the tanker mate with its bomber.
I'll never forget the time (2002~ish, I think) my wife and I were taking a walk in central Florida, and one of these overflew us, in broad daylight. It did a slow turn, then flew over again, returning the same direction it came from. I was blown away. My wife didn't know what the hell it was, but she could see it wasn't a normal plane. Never did find out what the hell they were doing.
Always loved this plane. I know it's shape was mostly down to our crap computers when it was designed, but I think it's a very handsome airframe that's aged well. I mean this entirely in terms of looks - it's just a good looking aircraft in my untrained eyes.
Ya know, I’ve heard that to and I’m thinking that’s really more of a legend than actual. I’m betting the decision was made to bias more towards aerodynamics for the f22 for air superiority. ✈️ Now with the new RAM coating it looks like we could be getting the best of both worlds.
@@BilgePump The story appears in Ben Rich's book about Skunk Works and he's more or less the guy who would know with regard to the F-117.
It will always be one of coolest looking planes to ever fly. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be a military enthusiast from a country the US wasn't friendly with, and then seeing pictures of these for the first time and realizing just how ridiculous U.S airpower can be, and how far behind your own country was in comparison.
@@riotintheair +1, that book is a must read for anyone enthusiastic about aviation. Details the development of SR-71 and the nighthawk, you won't be able to put it down.
While I didn't think much of the plane when it first came out, it has managed to grow on me.
Still my favorite stealth plane, if only because of the sense of awe I felt the first time I saw it flying. That very unique, angular shape, like nothing seen before, which they somehow were able to get airborne and keep from immediately plummeting to the ground. I'm glad the old girl is still out there, doing her thing. Great video!😊
Although it’s my favourite stealth fighter for aesthetics, for stealth aircraft overall I do like the B2 Spirit more, especially the clip of it dropping the GBU-57 MOP. Beast mode activated! 🥷
I can place this fighter alongside the Ferrari F-40 as the leaders in my tech heart. Their design is unmistakable, their capabilities undeniable and the sheer coolness factor is off the charts.
Hat off to the designers and engineers that made those awesome tech art pieces of wonder possible! 👍
I'm of the opinion that "older" tech has the capability to be upgraded and be incredibly awesome. The F-117 is such an aircraft. Take the shell of the plane, upgrade the computer hardware, and software + new radar absorbent material and it's probably a top level aircraft with a dramatically lower cost than the newer stuff. I'm not saying we should put them on the front lines vs top level air defenses, but I do think it's a good idea to keep them on standby for lower level air defenses to keep pressure off of our better platforms which should always be prepared to respond to someone like China.
You can get a good aircraft by upgrading old stuff, but the best aircraft come from being developed as a full cohesive package.
@@amazin7006 I absolutely agree with this. I'm just wondering if there is a cost benefit to upgrading older aircraft or not. I mean keeping 25 - 50 older stealth aircraft updated may come in handy.
Ricky...with you there! /i'm typing this on a nearly THIRTY YEAR OLD Dell laptop....
There's no doubt these things are updated with new computers and coatings
First time I saw this plane in person, I was 9. Flew from Australia to Utah, visiting family in 1993. Standing in a parking lot playing with the neighbourhood kids- we all looked up hearing a plane and there it was, flew right above us. Just awesomeness.
That’s mad! Lucky you!
@@liddz434 it was. Didn’t know exactly what I was looking at until we told our dad what it looked like. Pretty sure it flew out of Hill Airforce Base/Depot.
I miss seeing the f117 flying over hill
@@Adroit1911 only time I saw it actually in the air. But Hill always had neat planes to watch. Too bad they shut down the frontage road at the south entrance. Used to sit and watch.
Being an officially retired aircraft, it's completely expendable in potential deployments, as a tester and for training. Where F-22s and F-35s are not.
I will say, I really wish there were "phantom sightings" of F-14s outside of Iranian air space.
As a kid, the F117 Nighthawk captured my imagination and fostered my interest in military aviation.
This was an amazing plane when it came out. I am proud that I had an uncle that worked on the prototype along with other late 70's early 80's weapons projects. He was old and not far from the end of his life when he opened up to my mother at the kitchen table with me setting there. We all knew he made very good money as a machinist, that night we realized why and who he worked for. Nothing he said would have change the balance of power in the world as he only worked on this part or that one, still this was all before things like CNC and CAD/CAM
It's amazing that the idea of stealth aircraft is Russian, the F-117 came out in the early 80's, and they still haven't equaled it.
What a great story about F117 and how it’s still relevant and going strong 40 years after it’s initial operational deployment. That’s stunning in itself! God Bless America!
It occurred to me they might make great drone swarms, especially armed to the teeth with appropriate missiles.
Bingo-that would be the perfect airframe to go full drone with.
When your so bad ass, that they don’t care you haven’t fully finished loading your graphics textures and throw you in combat in polygon mode.
I do believe the chrome plating is the biggest indicator that the nighthawk is far from done. The combat evidence makes sense and logistics is logical for the training support. But the new plating is an investment. It will now be a test bed and training tool IMO
Good challenges for F-35 and F-22 fighters to try to shoot down.
@@galvinstanley3235 great test bed for weapons, test different coatings, even changes to flight surfaces. Just gives a great opportunity to try stuff on jets that if damaged aren't being depended on. There aren't enough F22's for them to be guinea pigs
I am really quite certain that this new coating is designed to make it UV invisible [something no plane has yet to have achieved to date] because I think its a material designed to ensure that even if it does block UV light with its profile, it REFLECTS UV light with this coating, while at the same time, by being so 'light neutral' [as most reflective bodies are, by their very nature] it makes it impossible to spot visually at any distance [this is not a new technique, back in WW2 many naval planes were dark 'marine' blue on top and sky blue underneath, just so that they would be much harder to spot from the relative positions of the enemy pilots and ground gunners.
Since the USMC flew aircraft from many forward naval bases on islands, they would have to fly very low to avoid radar, therefore, they had a potential disadvantage if they were much different from the water below, but then, once they climbed to altitude to attack, they would be vulnerable to gunners if they were dark underneath.
This material clearly has the potential of being the same thing, only with the added ability to be UV invisible, since many new, modern missiles use UV black holes to home in on another aircraft.
@@hunnybunnysheavymetalmusic6542 I personnel thought it was something to test directed energy weapons as well. I am curious where it goes, the coating or a similar one was placed on an F-22. It will be exciting to see the development of aircraft over the next few years with China becoming a technologically competitive
rival.
@@cmdr1911 "Always in motion the future is"
- Yoda
"Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back"
Tonopah (Tone-a-paw or Tone-oh-pah), Nevada. I was a vendor to several facets (pun intended) of the F117 project, including supplying a computer system designed to track the F117 during trials. Later, I worked for Ken Perko, a project leader of the Have Blue program. I was so very fortunate. After one consultation visit to Lockheed, I stopped in a hobby shop to buy a gift. There, was a plastic “Stealth” model on display. I had to grin a say to myself, “Nice, but oh so wrong…”
Some of my earliest memories are of hearing news reports mentioning the stealth bombers' raids in the first gulf war while riding home from daycare in dad's car. I remember frequently seeing its likeness on the unclass defense industry material he worked on at home all weekend every weekend. The F-117's angular silhouette was fascinating to me and it got burned into my young memory. I've learned a lot about the plane and its development team thanks to channels like this and I am still fascinated by the plane and the project, itself. Personally, I've always thought it looked totally badass.
I think the most obvious reason why the F-117 now comes to a late retirement is, that it is the perfect Opfor simulator for the Chengou J20 and J31. When China attacks Taiwan the training the F-117 provides will be invaluable, and showing off that US is training to kill stealth Air-Crafts may even prevent a War against Taiwan. So "intercepting" the 40 year old F-117 is perfect as exercise and show of force as warning to China, while not deminishing the reputation of the F-35 or B-2.
Same thing I was thinking, especially as it’s rumored that China sucked up all the pieces of the one that was shot down over Serbia.only makes sense that the J-20 has a lot of “borrowed” ideas from the F-117. It’s a Perfect adversary for US pilots.
Well said
That makes perfect sense to me, but I also think it’s still a perfectly capable attack plane
Worked on this in the late 80s to early 90s.. Also worked on the TR-1 and SR-71. 2 of 3 are still flying. Pretty cool!
Really enjoy your style of presenting these kinds of stories. Would love to see more about any recent use of the AC-130.
I was a yellow shirt aboard the USS Independence from 1980 to June of 1984. I did 3 tours on her. IO in 80 81 and two Meds. I've learned more about flight ops thanks to you than maybe I wanted to know.
I pulled the gear for years on her but my career was almost cut short May 7 1981. F4 tangled in the wire second one right behind and no wave off till the other was over the deck before getting the wave off. When you mentioned a burner wave off in another video which is the only thing that saved our life's that night is that a verbal command?
Some of this is hard at times to watch because of my past.
ABHs are a tight knit group and as one you see all and control all of the deck. It never goes away even almost 40 years later.
Keep up the great information.
Was lucky enough to get photos of an F-117 on the east coast last year during the Sentry Savannah 2022 exercise in Georgia. Easily my most prized catch and I really hope I get an opportunity to see it again.
I am so impressed how you insist on giving credit where it's due - and with so much grace. You never miss a chance to inspire as much as inform. Bravo.
This jet was my first model kit as a kid. Didn't even have to paint it, the plastic was black.
i did it for school project in middle school.
I flew into KSAV last year and was shocked but smiling when I saw a F-117 there as part of a large scale training Op. Search KSAV F-117 and there are clear / well shot videos of it being serviced, startup and t/o - return.
Thanks for my Father for letting me see one UP CLOSE & PERSONAL when we were stationed in England from 86-91.
It was absolutely beautiful to have had the opportunity to REALLY "SEE & TOUCH" it as only the Flight Crew/Maintenance and the ARMED "SP's" were/did or could.... 😊
No wonder people thought they were seeing ufos. Those stills of it flying low around the test range, looks alien to me.
I think the Raptor will have the same kind of retirement as well. "Raptor it's been years but we need you back. I know you got a family now. This is bigger than all of us and I'm not asking you, I'm telling you"
I was lucky enough to be a part of the restoration of one of these beauties while doing volunteer work for castle air museum. I was perusing my undergrad at the time and it arrived at the restoration hanger two months before I graduated. I helped unload it and start the restoration, I wish I could’ve worked on it for longer but I will definitely come back and see it when it goes on display sometime in the near future.
It might’ve even been the very f117 on that flat bed truck in this video. If I had to guess it was heading to Lockheed facilities to get sensitive coatings and other materials removed before being sent to us.
Would be interesting to turn a 117 into a drone.
Check I could see a few being converted into airborne target drones to give guys experience in fighting stealth ac
@@jessicacolegrove4152 Why make it a target drone? There's not many of them. Use it in training exercises and don't actually shoot it down.
goya go, bit of a waste to destroy such a classic machine, however, because of all the flat panels making up the shape, it lends itself to easily being scaled up or down, made out of sheets of plastic, carbon fibre or sheet metal (with a radar-absorbing coating) then given a one way ticket to deliver a load of explosives to a deserving place or person.
Ive seen this jet at Luke on the tarmac, and its... magnificent. Such wonderful advanced human engineering. Id love to see other classified work.
Nice to see you use “circumstantial evidence” instead of “speculation” - well done!
'Yeah, Joe was in Special Forces, but he retired. Nah, he just goes camping a lot. New job? Don't know...'
"Did James ever take that job with the CIA? Na. What is he doing now? Oh he is doing something in China now. He's always traveling. Do you know what he does? No."
(True story)
And people actually believe the f22 is going into retirement in a decade 😂
In Feb. 2023 I was driving to Las Vegas from the Hoover Dam. I was only a few miles from entering the Las Vegas Valley when we saw the fuselage of what looked like a Night Hawk without the wings. It was wrapped in white tape but you can tell from the shape that it was a stealth aircraft. There were 2 police vehicles excorting it from the front of the semi truck and 2 police vehicles following from behind it. We thought it was the stealth bomber but after seeing this video it's obvious that it was a nighthawk. The bomber fuselage is a lot bigger..I live in Boulder city which is between the Hoover Dam and the Vegas Valley. Since January 2023, there's been a lot of military equipment being brought into Arizona from Nevada. I have no idea where it's going from there. It seems as if they have a secret base out there somewhere. But that's just my guess. Great Video. Thumbs up
Alex do a video on the recently downed Kinzhal hypersonic missile. If it is true than it's confirmation that even previous generation Patriot batteries can track and destroy this so called "invincible weapon".
I think he already did one.
The f117 is the only stealth fighter that's stealthed from radar AND thermal. It's not wobbly or hard to maneuver, either. It's smooth as a cadillac. Current fighters train against it in training to prepare for grand power adversary fights against potential enemy stealth fighters that are far better than near peer adversaries.
The nighthawk is still a premier stealth fighter.
The only time the f117 was shot down was as a political maneuver where they sold that f117 out and told them exactly where it would be to hide the f-117's true capabilities.
Not a fighter. It is a bomber. I worked on the mock-up at Burbank when the Skunk Works was still there.
I believe one of the Nighthawks nicknames was "wobblin goblin"
@@stephenseibold6116 F-117A is 7G rated with engines (without afterburners) from F/A-18 Hornet.
Yeah apparently it is quite unstable. But it’s a bomber so it’s not that big a deal.
Interesting fact from Desert Shield/Storm F-117 operations. I was deployed with the 48th TFW, F-111F’s, at Taif, SA. The F-117 utilized the same bomb rack as the F-111F. The MAU-12. Apparently when they deployed they either didn’t bring, or had insufficient numbers of bomb rack orifices of a certain spec. Can’t recall the specific size, but we had plenty, so we supplied them. The MAU-12 has two orifices that meter the gasses from the impulse carts (basically aluminum shot shells with no shot) to the forward and aft ejector pistons of the bomb rack. Good old Liberty Wing
At 6:06 I’m pretty sure it’s pronounced “Sam-mam-ish” “man”. At least that’s how we pronounce Lake Sammamish here in Washington state.
Excellent video! You have some of the best aviation news content on RUclips! And I’m excited for your second channel!
I usually pronounced it "sum-am-ish". Not sure how correct that is, though, as I have a bit of a southern mix in my accent.
He can't say Nevada correctly, you expect him to get Sammamish? 🤣
Oh god, and the way he said Tonopah. 😖
This story reminds me of something I saw at a USAF base in West Germany in the fall of 1962--a B-36 coming in for a landing. The B-36 officially quit flying three years earlier. However, consider what was going on at the time. The Berlin Wall had gone up the year before. The Cuban Missile Crisis was October 1962. My family spent about two weeks sleeping in the basement fallout shelters on base housing (they were called "bomb shelters" but even at age 5 I knew the difference because of touring World War One battlefields and the Maginot Line with my father). There's no mistaking a B-36 for something else. Several years later I showed my brother a picture of the B-36 and he immediately recognized the aircraft because it had terrified him. My speculation is that the B-36 flew reconnaissance flights along the Inter-German Border where it could see almost all the way to Poland and verify that Soviet ground forces were not massing on the border for a quick invasion.
So F-117A flying operationally isn't out of the question.
This reminded me of an article I read in 1983. It was about the SAIA Marchetti SF260 Sky Warrior and the rise of the COIN Aircraft. Low tech, not especially high speed, and not likely to ever be obsolete.
In this case, if you can't see it, you can't shoot it. It's a proven platform that may never have been shot down on purpose.
The original plan for a stealth aircraft was Tacit Blue. A stealth cargo/troop transport that would be used for special operator infiltrations of hostile environments.
In the movie Air Force One Tacit Blue was the inspiration for the F117 Remora that put the SEAL Team on the Presidential jet.
I went to a college that co-owned an airfield with a military aircraft repair/upgrades company back around 2019. I'd step outside to smoke and there would be like 2-3 of these things flying overhead weekly. They've either done a lot of engine work on them or their changing the imaging systems or the airframe or something else... They had a lot of these things flying in and out constantly.
When I was a kid I was in the parking lot of the Everett mall,and a stealth bomber flew overhead.
This shows you just how advanced the U.S.' development programs are. Our 40 and 50 year old jets are still dominating in combat or are still so useful to the point where we barely ever get to use our shiny new toys.
So, they have some 50 of them maintained and ready to go? I know a certain country that could certainly use them to drop JDAMs and SDBs.
@@piisfun According to Wikipedia, these are the armaments officialy supported:
Armament
2 × internal weapons bays with one hardpoint each (total of two weapons) equipped to carry:
Bombs:
GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb with 2,000 lb (910 kg) Mk84 blast/fragmentation or BLU-109 or BLU-116 Penetrator warhead
GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb with 500 lb (230 kg) Mk82 blast/fragmentation warhead
GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb with 2,000 lb (910 kg) Mk84 blast-fragmentation or BLU-109 or BLU-116 Penetrator warhead
GBU-31 JDAM INS/GPS guided munition with 2,000 lb (910 kg) Mk84 blast-frag or BLU-109 Penetrator warhead
B61 nuclear bomb
While I understand your point of view, I would think that supplying Ukraine with stealth aircraft capable of striking Moscow from a variety of Ukrainian aerodromes would be a political non-starter. Puty-pute would be likely to consider this direct American interference in this conflict and decide to escalate. Is he crazy enough to lob some fusion bombs at Ramstein airbase? I don't know. However I doubt our political leaders are willing to risk it at this point.
I'm assuming you mean Ukraine, in which case, no, on several different levels. First, I don't know exactly how hard it is to fly, but I'm pretty sure it's a lot easier to go from a mig 29 (or any Ukrainian fighter) to an f16 that it would be to go from an f16 to the nighthawk. It's just so wildly different from almost any other aircraft the US military has, and double the confusion by trying to train non English speaking (sometimes) pilots who only have experience with eastern bloc aircraft. Second, any stealth aircraft is going to need many times the upkeep cost and time more frequently and will require years of experience maintaining them that even the US doesn't seem to have enough of. Third, any slight advantage they might offer that something else like HIMARS or other ground or air launched munitions can't wouldn't make up for the fact you could fly and maintain several f16s for the same cost and less hassle than one nighthawk, and they would have a vastly wider range of applications, have a much wider variety of upgrades and munitions, and is considerably more rugged and less maintenance heavy. Having some kind of stealth craft for laser guided strikes would be great, but it would make adopting the f16 look trivial in comparison.
We should give a dozen of these to Ukraine.
Ukraine has a substantial fleet of Su25 ground strike aircraft, but let Russia drive in anyways. You could give them giant robots and force field tech, and they'd do the same thing
Great to hear the old birds are still flying! I've always liked the F-117 for its "unusual" looks.
Also nice to be reminded that sometimes older technology can actually be more appropriate for specific missions.
Glad to see these aircraft still flying. I thought it was a huge waste that they were being retired so soon. Thank you Ben Rich!
The USAF GBU-39B SDB Fact Sheet mentions "The F-15E Strike Eagle is currently the only aircraft outfitted with the SDB weapon system. Future platforms include the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-117, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II." No date on the article but several photos are captioned 11/27/2020.
SDBs are on AC-130s now, as well.
SDBs can go on pretty much everything
I saw one 2 years ago flying across the mountains in North Carolina. It was with 2 f16's. It was about 6:00 a.m. flying parallel with the new river, very low.
The nighthawk was one of the earliest birds that got me interested in aviation. It’d be cool to think of them as running the mission in Syria, sounds much less tin-foil-y when it’s laid out like that.
Though I did hear about them playing opfor and aggressors
Black Bird did that for me. I feel you buddy.
@@johnnysifuentes4188Both just reek of badass looks.The SR71 was the first jet that got my interests piqued into aviation and then the Nighthawk just upped the anti for me.👍
Love the channel. Why? Your excitement comes through in your voice. You actually use your voice. I like how you cover the information. Keep enjoying what you do.
I could definitely see the air force making a few qf-117 aircraft to give its pilots experience in trying to hunt down stealth ac
The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.
If it's still stealthy to enemy radar I think it would actually be a waste to not keep it around and use it, unless it becomes more expensive to operate than newer fighters, or bombers I guess.
Exactly this. I think the F35 is more stealthy, and the F22 definitely is.
@@jakethesnake630 Crazy how computers can turn that flat-paned geometry into smooth, more fighter looking, lines AND be more stealthy.
Apologies just got to the end of the video 😂
@@hankadelicflash it’s completely insane that the mathematics Skunkworks used to design the F117 came from a Russian 😆 The technological generations of stealth tech (even military tech in general) always astound me, which is why I cannot wait to hear more about the B21 Raider.
Another big plus for the aging f117 is that it doesn't have the associated risk of loss with modern us stealth technologies. They have already lost an f117 in Serbia, and it has not resulted in any real stealth technology being effectively reverse engineered. When the f35 crash in the south China sea, even small pieces of the RAM could have been disastrous to the us monopoly on stealth.
Inspiring! I'm driving a 20 year old car and I'll try to keep it going until 2034 too. 😅
The only F117 I've seen in the wild was the one that was delivered to the museum at Hill AFB. I was driving on I-15 and saw this whole police entourage escorting an oversized loaded truck that blew me away what I was looking at. Saw it later in the museum and wow it's so cool seeing all that fun geometry in person!
"Permission to land?"
Air control: "Who said that?
Excellent research and reporting! The F117 has still a lot of life in it, would be a shame to see it retired permanently. I remember playing MicrosProse’s Nighthawk and learned a lot about its capabilities . Hope they can come out with an accurate sim on DCS
I wonder if the avionics, radar and computer system of the F117 have been upgraded over the years? Great report mate.
It never even had radar - nothing to upgrade there.
Wondering the same. I would hope so. Gotta be, though. Right?
As an ex-Lockheed employee, I can tell you that the "chrome" coating you are referring to is just bare metal. You are seeing the plane without its RAM, nothing more, nothing less.
This was so hype when it showed up on my RUclips feed
Let's check it out right here.
All those stealth jets are the peak of human engineering. It's no surprise that they want to keep those work of art in the air as long as possible. These airplanes are part of the pride and history of our nation !
Incredible story, told by an incredible story teller. Thank you Alex Hollings.
I personally believe that the F117 is getting ready to become combat once again.
Sammamishman's name is most likely pronounced "Sa-mam-ish Man"... Sammamish is a city and a lake just east of Seattle.
Outstanding content as always
We need to see F-117 KnightHawk's flyby over Jedi Star Wars Canyon...Awesome Indeed!!!
It would be nice if you had addressed the fact that the alleged Syrian chemical attack have been completely discredited as American war mongering propaganda. This has been disproven by American journalists, we're not talking about the RT here.... Rather reputable award winning journalists. It's not a mistake that Alex left this Fact out.
Are you talking about the same award winning journalists that told us about the Russian collusions about Trump? Or reported that You could be protected against Covid by just getting the Jab? Or maybe the other thousand lies reported the Liberal commie bastard press
Just "what-if" here, but it'd be cool if there was a classified F-117 modernization overhaul.
Or even a redesigned successor that kept the overall look but updated it with current stealth standards. (Thinking smoothed out edges)
Imagine the F117 back-flying combat missions armed with switchblade-type missiles. It could be the USAF Special Operations air assassin. I can see that occurring. Despite that possibility, the plane is most likely being used for testing.
I still wear the nighthawk shirt from Holloman AFB when I watched the retirement flight there.
Yeah! The goblin is still in shady stuff I love it.
Sweet video man!! Retired now, reminds me of when I worked on black aircraft. Now it’s me 10+ years on fighting my own battle with multiple myeloma. Thanks for the video!!
I am glad you addressed this issue. I just knew the truth was out there!
It used to see the Nighthawk at my local airshow when I was a kid, now I'm trying to photograph it in flight as an adult. Hopefully I get lucky one of these days
To me it seems like nighthawk has come into a sort of "stealth jeep" role. It isn't anything special when it comes to aerobatics, but it's damn hard to kill or observe. Lose the bombs and you've got a hell of an intelligence platform that can snoop around unseen and lase targets for more expendable drones to take the shot at.
Like, a soviet SAM shot one down. Big deal. Those same SAMs gave American pilots hell over Vietnam, and the crew needed to know the aircraft was coming beforehand and hit it while it was deploying its weapon. That's not something you can reliably reproduce.
I really appreciate how you cite and discuss the quality of the sources you use in these videos. Its hard to find that anymore, and Id say it gives quite a bit of credibility to you.
What about drone conversion? Would that be time/cost competitive given what we know about the F-16 conversions? I can think of worse things than using older frames with established infrastructure and crews as drone-buddies for f-35s. Sure, purpose built drones would be better, but we've got 50 117s already and if 20 stay in normal flight condition and 30 are converted to drones for remote and/or teaming...I could see someone keeping them on the books for that reason. It would be a transitional sort of thing, but probably 30 years worth of transition.
Great video! Keep up the good work!
I sure wish my Dad was still alive to discuss this with. He spent 40+ years with Skunk Works and Northrup. He did work on the SR71, B2, F117 and prototypes for the F35 and F22. He was was of the most secretive people I have ever met but would enjoyed exporing this video.
I wouldn’t doubt if an SR-71 was still in service or that an F-14 or two is stored somewhere.
I think that it's a very plausible theory. I love how wicked they look. I fondly remember using them in C&C Generals, one of the games of my childhood.
Is it going to be like the B-52? It will be around for so long that we will be fighting space wars with it?
The Black Bird comment sums it up perfectly, keep it up there until it's no longer viable. A subsonic aircraft as upgradable with the platform it was built on is, it becomes an academic no brainer to keep it flying. It's already here, and it's still capable...😀👍
You do a great job, Alex. Thank you.
One thing I’ll give the Americans, they know how to build beautiful aircraft, from the P-51 to the SR-71, absolutely stunning to look at and great performance. 👍
During my swat exercise off the coast of Las Angelas I saw one flying in formation with F35B
Love your videos as always. :) Part of me wonders if the shape--on it's own--is more stealth than F-22s, etc., but that improved coatings gave engineers more freedom to optimize other things on the F-22/F-35? Hopeless diamond + better coatings might be even better? I literally have nothing to base this on except curiosity and a vague intuition.
I think it'd be amazing to see a video on how engineers can determine shapes that will have low radar returns, especially during the design phases in a computer. :)
@@petedoyle It's mostly all math. There was a very technical article I read on the 117 development that explained how it wors (in a very general sense) and it was mostly over my head but it was basically all physics. What's mind bending is that they used a 70's computer to model it and it actually flew. A testament to the minds that put in some pretty amazing work.
@@nadtz I want to know everything about it 😁
@@petedoyle It was years ago so I don't remember exactly where I found it but something along the lines of "faceting stealth physics" on google should start you down the rabbit hole.
From Mercury through Apollo everything was designed using slide rules. CAS-CAM was unheard of.