The Story of the F-117, the World's First Stealth Fighter Jet, from Secret Project to the Battlefield

The Shiro Copr - Fast, strong, advanced, and undetectable. Stealth fighters are a real nightmare for the enemy.

Stealth jets can attack targets without being detected by enemy radar. Boro-boro repelling attacks, opponents even don't know when the fighter jets flew until the missiles were shot down right above the sky.

Because of its sophistication, to this day, only a few countries can make it. Each country certainly has an interest in maintaining the stealth technology.

Behind all of that, the stealth fighter jet was born from a long process of the aircraft's own technology. Then, what is the story of this stealth fighter jet?

F-117, the world's first stealth fighter jet

June 18, 1981, the United States (US) successfully flew a plane that was difficult to detect by radar. At that time, no country knew about it.

The aircraft was produced by the leading defense company, Lockheed Martin, and named F-117. The aircraft also received the nickname Nighthawk.

The F-117 originated from the Have Blue Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program in the 1970s.

At that time, amid the high tension of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the US wanted an aircraft capable of attacking vital targets without being detected by enemy radar.

After the first flight in 1981, the F-117 received official operational status in the United States Air Force in October 1983.

However, for the next half-decade, this aircraft was officially shrouded in secrecy.

Although the general concept of stealth technology is known to the public, and many speculations have emerged about "stealth aircraft".

This speculation gained even more strength after one of the then-secret aircraft crashed near Bakersfield, California, in July 1986.

The U.S. Department of Defense finally officially acknowledged the existence of the stealth aircraft in November 1988.

The announcement not only ended speculation but also inspired the statement that the F-117A is "the Air Force's Best Kept Secret."

The technology behind stealth aircraft

DARPA wants a military aircraft that can emit or reflect very small amounts of radio, infrared, or light energy.

With those specifications, the aircraft can pass undetected by the enemy's electronic warning systems.

Then, Lockheed Martin began developing a military aircraft according to the specifications desired by DARPA. In short, the F-117 was born.

The F-117's surface consists of many flat panels oriented in such a way as to reflect radar waves away from the transmitter.

Next, the reflection of the waves is reduced by coating the aircraft's surface with a special material to absorb radar waves.

The aircraft is powered by two General Electric turbofan jet engines designed without afterburners, thus limiting the aircraft to subsonic speeds.

The F-117 design was also made in such a way to reduce the infrared emissions from the aircraft.

The F-117 should be equipped with weapons such as laser-guided bombs, radar-seeking missiles, or infrared-seeking missiles.

Using a navigator, infrared sensors, digital maps, and radio commands from satellites or other aircraft, the F-117 can navigate without emitting radar signals.

F-117 Combat Operation

The F-117 Nighthawk finally stood out in air-to-ground combat.

The first official mission of this fighter aircraft was the battle in the skies over Panama during Operation Just Cause in December 1989.

In 1991, during the Second Gulf War, the F-117 attacked airfields and command and control facilities of Saddam Hussein, the then leader of Iraq, in Baghdad with very high accuracy.

The F-117A that dropped the first bomb in the war hit the telecommunications center in Baghdad.

It is reported that the F-117 finally attacked 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq during Desert Storm.

Since then, the aircraft has continued to serve outstandingly during the Allied Force Operation, Enduring Freedom Operation, and Iraqi Freedom Operation.

F-117 retired officially in 2008.