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So Soon? F-117 Retiring



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 18th 08, 12:16 PM posted to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation
J.F.
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Posts: 883
Default So Soon? F-117 Retiring

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- The world's first attack aircraft to employ
stealth technology is slipping quietly into history.

The inky black, angular, radar-evading F-117, which spent 27 years in
the Air Force arsenal secretly patrolling hostile skies from Serbia to
Iraq, will be put in mothballs next month in Nevada.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, which manages the F-117
program, will have an informal, private retirement ceremony Tuesday with
military leaders, base employees and representatives from Holloman Air
Force Base in New Mexico.

The last F-117s scheduled to fly will leave Holloman on April 21, stop
in Palmdale, California, for another retirement ceremony, then arrive on
April 22 at their final destination: Tonopah Test Range Airfield in
Nevada, where the jet made its first flight in 1981.

The government has no plans to bring the fighter out of retirement, but
could do so if necessary.

"I'm happy to hear they are putting it in a place where they could bring
it back if they ever needed it," said Brig. Gen. Gregory Feest, the
first person to fly an F-117 in combat, during the 1989 invasion of
Panama that led to the capture of dictator Manuel Noriega.

The Air Force decided to accelerate the retirement of the F-117s to free
up money to modernize the rest of the fleet. The F-117 is being replaced
by the F-22 Raptor, which also has stealth technology.

Fifty-nine F-117s were made; 10 were retired in December 2006 and 27
since then, the Air Force said. Seven of the planes have crashed, one in
Serbia in 1999.

Stealth technology used on the F-117 was developed in the 1970s to help
evade enemy radar. While not invisible to radar, the F-117's shape and
coating greatly reduced its detection.

The F-117, a single-seat aircraft, was designed to fly into heavily
defended areas undetected and drop its payloads with surgical precision.

A total of 558 pilots have flown the F-117 since it went operational.
They dub themselves "bandits," with each given a "bandit number" after
their first flight.

Feest, who is Bandit 261, also led the first stealth fighter mission
into Iraq during Desert Storm in 1991. He said the fire from
surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns was so intense that he
stopped looking at it to try to ease his fears.

"We knew stealth worked and it would take a lucky shot to hit us, but we
knew a lucky shot could hit us at any time," he said.

Incredibly, not one stealth was hit during those missions, he said.

  #2  
Old March 18th 08, 06:00 PM posted to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation
flybywire
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 195
Default So Soon? F-117 Retiring

More than 350 Wright-Patt Airmen, base employees, industry partners and family members gathered for one last close-up look at the F-117 Nighthawk, which made its first flight in 1981, just months after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th U.S. President.

Three F-117s and Airmen from the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. were on hand to enable AFMC and Aeronautical Systems Center officials an opportunity to reflect on the jet's legacy. The ceremony concluded with a fly-by of one jet painted red, white and blue on its belly.

"The United State Air Force developed, in partnership with industry, an airplane that has served this nation remarkably well over a quarter of a century," General Bruce Carlson, Air Force Materiel Command commander said.

Carlson said the Air Force decided to retire the F-117 fleet because a new generation of stealth aircraft including the B-2 Spirit, F-22 Raptor and soon-to-be-fielded F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have better capabilities, and because the F-117 is expensive to fly and maintain.

"Taking them out of service will allow us to use that money to recapitalize the Air Force," he added.

The F-117s will be placed in storage at an airfield in the Tonopah Test Range, Nev., where the jets flew in total secrecy and only at night until November 1988.

Holloman's 49th Fighter Wing became the Nighthawk's home in 1992.

Gen. Carlson said in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, F-117s flew nearly 1,300 sorties over Iraq and Kuwait without a single combat loss. Nighthawk pilots flew only two percent of the total combat sorties but struck 40 percent of the most highly defended, strategic targets.

"It was a remarkable contribution to that war and all done over one of the most hostile air environments in the history of the world," he added.

Lessons learned operating and maintaining the F-117 contributed significantly to the development of the new mix of U.S. stealth aircraft which now have vastly superior capabilities, Gen. Carlson said.

"This airplane was the foundation for low-observable technology in the United States of America," he said.

The F-117 is nearly completely covered with a radar absorbing material which is laborious and expensive to maintain. After each mission, maintenance specialists closely examine the aircraft's special coating to identify any needed repairs. If required, coatings are reapplied, allowed to cure, and re-inspected, said Col. George Torres Jr., commander of Holloman's 49th Maintenance Group.

"We can do a quick turn and get these aircraft up very quickly to support operational training requirements," said. Col. Torres. But in combat situations, extra time and attention are the rule of the day to ensure the Nighthawk's stealth characteristics are intact.

"The aircraft won't go out until it's ready," Torres added.

Few people realize the F-117 has no defensive systems or radar, said Col. John Forsythe, 49th Operations Group commander. "We depend exclusively on the stealth provided by our maintainers."

Holloman's pilot and maintenance teams will launch their last "4-ship" of stealth fighters on April 21, Col. Forsythe said. They will make a brief overnight stop at the F-117s logistics support center in Palmdale, Calif., for a final ceremony before retiring to Tonopah where their wings and tails removed and the aircraft stored in protective hangars. A portion of the fleet will be rapidly recallable to fly again, if ever needed.

Then, the 49th Fighter Wing's focus rapidly turns to getting ready to receive the Air Force's newest stealthy jet, the F-22 Raptor.
"J.F." castman



@ameritech.net wrote in message . net...
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- The world's first attack aircraft to employ
stealth technology is slipping quietly into history.

The inky black, angular, radar-evading F-117, which spent 27 years in
the Air Force arsenal secretly patrolling hostile skies from Serbia to
Iraq, will be put in mothballs next month in Nevada.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, which manages the F-117
program, will have an informal, private retirement ceremony Tuesday with
military leaders, base employees and representatives from Holloman Air
Force Base in New Mexico.

The last F-117s scheduled to fly will leave Holloman on April 21, stop
in Palmdale, California, for another retirement ceremony, then arrive on
April 22 at their final destination: Tonopah Test Range Airfield in
Nevada, where the jet made its first flight in 1981.

The government has no plans to bring the fighter out of retirement, but
could do so if necessary.

"I'm happy to hear they are putting it in a place where they could bring
it back if they ever needed it," said Brig. Gen. Gregory Feest, the
first person to fly an F-117 in combat, during the 1989 invasion of
Panama that led to the capture of dictator Manuel Noriega.

The Air Force decided to accelerate the retirement of the F-117s to free
up money to modernize the rest of the fleet. The F-117 is being replaced
by the F-22 Raptor, which also has stealth technology.

Fifty-nine F-117s were made; 10 were retired in December 2006 and 27
since then, the Air Force said. Seven of the planes have crashed, one in
Serbia in 1999.

Stealth technology used on the F-117 was developed in the 1970s to help
evade enemy radar. While not invisible to radar, the F-117's shape and
coating greatly reduced its detection.

The F-117, a single-seat aircraft, was designed to fly into heavily
defended areas undetected and drop its payloads with surgical precision.

A total of 558 pilots have flown the F-117 since it went operational.
They dub themselves "bandits," with each given a "bandit number" after
their first flight.

Feest, who is Bandit 261, also led the first stealth fighter mission
into Iraq during Desert Storm in 1991. He said the fire from
surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns was so intense that he
stopped looking at it to try to ease his fears.

"We knew stealth worked and it would take a lucky shot to hit us, but we
knew a lucky shot could hit us at any time," he said.

Incredibly, not one stealth was hit during those missions, he said.

 




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