Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk

Video from the channel Mundo de Aviación about Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:06. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

Informational video about the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk that covers the origin of the program, the principles of its stealth, its characteristics, its combat history and its retirement.

Work began in 1974 under the direction of DARPA, which was looking for an attack aircraft that was hard to detect by radar. In 1976 Lockheed was commissioned to build two small-scale demonstrators, and the first flew in 1977. The first of five full-scale prototypes flew in June 1981. The aircraft reached operational capability in October 1983, and the last of the 59 production aircraft was delivered in 1990. It flew in secret and only at night from Nevada until a low-quality photograph was released in November 1988.

Its flat surfaces, joined at sharp angles, reflect the signal away from the antenna. Radar-absorbent materials containing iron particles convert the waves into heat. It carried no radar: it navigated with GPS and used infrared sensors and a laser designator. It was a single-seat, twin-engine aircraft with two non-afterburning General Electric F404 engines. It weighed up to 23,800 kg at takeoff, had a radius of 862 km with a 1,800 kg payload and reached 993 km/h. It debuted in Panama in December 1989. During Desert Storm, 36 were deployed in Saudi Arabia, flying more than 1,270 sorties without losses. In 1999 one was shot down over Yugoslavia by an S-125 missile. The USAF retired it in April 2008, after 27 years of service, although examples were filmed flying in 2010 and 2019.