The F-117 Nighthawk

    


In 1954 a paper by Russian mathematician Pyotr Ufimtsev explained how radar returns from an object is related to its angle from a surface. From this information and due to increasingly more advanced radar-guided missiles during the Vietnam war, the United States Government contracted Lockheed to build prototypes using these principles. 

    Computers were still not as advanced as they are now and may have contributed to the fact that it was too complicated to develop a smoother curved airframe and so that is why it retains a very sharp and boxy look as compared to stealth aircraft of today. It also used lots of parts from other aircraft such as control systems, landing gear, and avionics to keep costs low and maintain secrecy. It also incorporated cold air routing around the engine and towards the exhaust to further lower the heat signature produced. It also used radar absorbing materials and special materials in the glass cockpit that would trap radar returns to further minimize its signature. It came equipped with two internal bomb bays that held guided munitions.  It wasn’t until 1990 that the first daytime flight of this all-black stealth aircraft was allowed. One of the nicknames it gained due to this was “Cockroach” since it was hidden during the day and only out at night. 

 

    Famously the Nighthawk was used during operations in Panama, Yugoslavia, and the Gulf War to name a few. The F-117 Nighthawk was soon replaced in the early 2000s due to budget constraints that made the aircraft costly to maintain. Furthermore, more advanced computers aided in the further design of more advanced stealth aircraft that accomplished the same mission but better. Today the F-117 nighthawk is still spotted in use, assumedly for testing or research purposes. There are several Nighthawks on display throughout the country in areas like Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Nebraska.

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