F 117 Nighthawk - discussione ufficiale

[fabio-22raptor]

https://combataircraft.keypublishing.com/2019/02/27/f-117-nighthawk-still-out-there-still-flying-clearest-photos-yet/

 

chi non muore si rivede.

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il 27/2/2019 in 08:30 , fabio-22raptor ha scritto:

https://combataircraft.keypublishing.com/2019/02/27/f-117-nighthawk-still-out-there-still-flying-clearest-photos-yet/

chi non muore si rivede.

E continua a volare ...

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/27024/f-117-sported-mysterious-dark-knights-tail-flash-during-recent-mojave-desert-flights

[fabio-22raptor]

Il Riesumato Nighthawk appare sempre più di frequente da quelle parti, e questo, come giustamente riporta l'articolo di The Drive, fa pensare ad una reale e concreta presenza di uno squadrone molto poco conosciuto con tutto ciò che ne consegue in termini logistici e operativi. Si vociferava anche di un possibile impiego in teatri operativi a bassa intensità (Siria) ma le voci non hanno, per il momento, trovato conferma alcuna. 

 

[fabio-22raptor]

https://combataircraft.keypublishing.com/2019/07/14/aggressor-f-117-incredible-new-images-revealed/

 

Paint Scheme: Aggressor (???)

[Scagnetti]

Un velivolo che mi ha sempre affascinato. Tyler Rodgway che ha sempre sempre seguito la storia del programma con un certo rigore aggiunge altri dettagli,  estratti da una videointervista incorporata al link al primo pilota che volò l'aereo, 28 ani fa circa. Harold "Hal" Farley Jr. Videso su youtube incorporato nell'articolo.

 

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29412/test-pilot-details-f-117s-first-flight-and-descending-into-its-top-secret-world

 

Guardando in giro, anche in questo caso il nome ufficiale  Nighthawk non fu quasi mai usato da quelli che lo volavano e lo manutenevano. The Ghost, The coacroache, The Asset,, quello che conoscevo io "Wobblin' Goblin".

 

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29412/test-pilot-details-f-117s-first-flight-and-descending-into-its-top-secret-world

 

 

Modificato 15 Agosto 2019 da Scagnetti

[TT-1 Pinto]

Nonostante tutto ... sono ancora lì ... 

Quote

More than a decade after the F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack jet's official retirement, it remains a hot topic of discussion and speculation, especially given that some of the aircraft are still flying. 
The War Zone can now confirm that the Air Force still has 51 of the aircraft in its inventory and has not destroyed any of the aircraft since 2008, despite a Congressional mandate two years ago to dispose of four of them annually. 
We can also explain what happened to an F-117 that bystanders recently spotted on a flatbed semi-trailer on a road near the Air Force's Plant 42 complex in southern California.

... thedrive.com/the-war-zone ... 51 F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Jets Remain In Inventory, None Destroyed Since 2008 (Updated) ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Ulteriori informazioni sugli F-117 che volano tuttora ...

... theaviationist.com ... https://theaviationist.com/2019/11/07/we-never-get-tired-of-new-photographs-and-audio-with-radio-comms-of-f-117s-still-flying-over-nevada/ ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Di tanto in tanto ...

Quote

Japanese photographer Toshihiko Shimizu photographed this US Air Force F-117A flying on March 19, 2020, operating in almost exactly the same area as last February, near Death Valley. 
While the aircraft was not flying as low as the February 2019 sighting, it represents the closest public encounter in over a year. 
He said: “At 9:36am I found a black shadow in the sky. After I looked through my camera, I found it was an F-117. It came from south, then turned right and headed north. Five minutes later, it came back from south again, and flew the same course. At 10:27 it came back again from the south. It seemed to fly the same course. After that, it didn’t come back again.”

... key.aero ... THE NIGHTHAWK RETURNS! ...

[Flaggy]

Non credo che gli F-117 immagazzinati possano effettivamente venir riattivati tutti a meno che non ci si trovi proprio con le pezze al sedere.

Va comunque detto che effettivamente un velivolo come l'F-35 (non parliamo poi dell'F-22) non può trasportare bombe EGBU-27 a guida laser da 1000kg.

Quote

This is likely due to the fact that the F-117 retains some unique features that are still replicated in any other USAF types. This includes the ability for a low observable (LO) aircraft to drop a laser-guided ‘bunker buster’ for penetrating hard targets — in the case of the F-117 the EGBU-27, which was added in OFP 86.

Le EGBU-27 bunker buster a guida laser sono infatti troppo lunghe (4,2m) e ingombranti a causa della presenza del sensore laser e dei relativi impennaggi anteriori.

In verità le varianti A e C sono comunque compaibili con la GBU-31 JDAM che adotta la stessa testata con penetratore BLU-109 da 2000 libbre (oppure la MK-84 di peso analogo) abbinata però al più compatto sistema GPS-inerziale che consente di contenere la lunghezza a circa 3,8m.

L'abbinamento con la BLU-109 è questo.

In realtà ora è disponibille un kit LJDAM anche per le Mk-84 e per le BLU-109 con un compatto sensore laser nel muso e sono nate le corrispondenti GBU-56(V)2/B e GBU-56(V)3/B. A guida GPS, inerziale e laser. Al momento però non mi pare che l'omologazione sia estesa all'l'F-35 che attende il Block 4 per ampliare la gamma di armamenti trasportabili.

[Signs_of_Life]

L'F-117, opportunamente aggiornato sia dal punto di vista software, sia hardware, avrebbe ancora senso in uno scenario moderno? Sarebbe cost/effective? Ipoteticamente.

[Flaggy]

Ora ci sono B-2, F-22 ed F-35. Tutti con capacità aria-suolo anche superiori a quelle dell'F-117, soprattutto in termini di stealthnes, ma non solo.

Il velivolo ha tecnologie datate e volendo nemmeno così sconosciute agli avversari che sono passati anche loro a materiali e soprattutto geometrie esterne complesse che vanno al di là delle anacronistiche superfici sfaccettate che erano gestibili dai calcolatori del tempo. Ora con gli attuali processori si possono progettare superfici raccordate che migliorano l'aerodinamica e nel contempo non creano spigoli vivi (fonte di discontinità nelle correnti superficiali provocate dalle onde radar incidenti e che a loro volta si traducono in onde elettromagnetiche di ritorno), sostituiti da raccordi a curvatura ottimizzata che minimizzano la riflessione.

L'aereo utilizza poi quantità spropositate di delicati rivestimenti RAM anche in forma di strisce adesive per riempire i gap tra i pannelli, cui oggi tendenzialmente si cerca di fare a meno con pannelli strutturali in compositi radarassorbenti e accoppiamenti di montaggio molto precisi (è il caso dell'F-35 più che dei precedenti B-2 ed F-22).

Non ha alcun senso fare un costoso aggiornamento di così pochi velivoli datati e fuori servizio, quando si hanno in produzione ben altre "munizioni" a meno che le munizioni non scarseggino.

Ci vorrebbe in sostanza la Terza Guerra Mondiale...

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

In pensione ?
Tre settimane fa ha volato nel cielo di Los Angeles e Long Beach ...

Quote

It's the second mission of its kind this week and this time they made the trip in clear skies right over the most populated area on the west coast.
In a follow up to our reporting regarding Monday's flight of a pair of F-117s Nighthawk stealth jets, which were officially retired over a decade ago, off the Southern California coast, another similar mission has occurred today and this time we have photos showing the F-117s in tow behind their test tanker.

 ... thedrive.com ... F-117 Stealth Jets Flew Directly Over Los Angeles On Another Mission Off The California Coast (Updated) ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Una 'capacità' poco nota ... 

Quote

The F-117 Nighthawk continues to capture the public's imagination well over a decade after it was officially retired. 
Even though it flies on in a limited fashion for testing and training purposes, its days as a combat aircraft are long behind it. 
While it was best known for snaking its way through enemy air defenses to strike fixed targets with pinpoint precision using conventional laser-guided bombs, the truth is the 'Black Jet' was fully equipped to deliver far more devastating weaponry if the balloon went up during the twilight of the Cold War. 
Originally, the Senior Trend program that gave birth to the F-117 included the goal of having the aircraft be able to carry the majority of the weapons the Air Force had to offer for its tactical fighter and attack aircraft at the time - the 1970s. 
The realization of the jet's limitations and strengths paired down its operational weapons menu considerably. 
Still, all the cockpit interfaces and diverse stores management capabilities were baked into the design - including the provision to carry and employ nuclear gravity bombs - namely the B57 and B61 ...

... thedrive.com/the-war-zone ... The Stealthy F-117 Nighthawk Could Have Executed Nuclear Strikes Against The Soviet Union ...

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Atterraggio a sorpresa di un paio di "pensionati" al Fresno Yosemite International Airport ... 

Quote

On September 13 two Lockheed F-117 Nighthawks touched down at Fresno Yosemite International Airport to conduct a few days of training exercises with the F-15C/D Eagles of the 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard (ANG). 
They left Fresno four days later. 
Although the fact that the officially retired F-117s are still in use is undisputed, the deployment to a joint-use civilian/military airfield in the full public glare marks the first major official recognition of their continued use, underlined by the official release of photographs.
The F-117 achieved fame as the world’s first “stealth fighter”, having entered service in 1983 under a cloak of secrecy. 
In 1991 it played a starring role in Operation Desert Storm, and saw action in subsequent U.S. campaigns. 
In April 2008 it was formally retired, and the fleet was placed into Type 1000 storage - maintained ready for use if required - at the closely guarded Tonopah Test Range (TTR) airfield in Nevada, from where the type had undertaken its initial, then-secret operations in the 1980s

.... ainonline.com ... https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2021-09-18/return-nighthawk-now-its-official ...

Anche qui ... theaviationist.com ... https://theaviationist.com/2021/09/16/official-f117-photos/ ...

Modificato 18 Settembre 2021 da TT-1 Pinto
***

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il vero motivo della ricomparsa dei "pensionati" ...

Quote

U.S. Air National Guard pilots are flying against officially retired F-117s as a way to practice homeland defense missiles against cruise missiles, with the stealth characteristics of the Nighthawks serving as a representation of the threat.
--- --- ---
Air National Guard boss Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, when asked by Aerospace DAILY if this was the first time the training has occurred, said, “I won’t comment on that.”
“When you look at 117s that come and land and do that stuff, they’re a stealth platform, right? Early days of stealth, but they’re still a stealthy platform,” Loh said. 
“So they can simulate things out there like cruise missiles that we would actually face. So are they a perfect platform for a cruise missile defense exercise? Absolutely.”

... aviationweek.com ... https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/afa-air-space-cyber-conference/retired-f-117s-fly-cruise-missiles-training ...

[nsauro]

Lockheed Sea Shadow, l’F-117 dei mari

https://rollingsteel.it/umido/lockheed-sea-shadow-lf-117-dei-mari/

 

Un articolo interessante su un natante stealth, "spin-off" dell'F-117 precursore delle Zumwalt

[maxiss]

Ma va,l hanno venduto come rottame,cosa insolita per degli americani 

[nsauro]

Un vero peccato!

[engine]

The black is back    :

https://theaviationist.com/2023/04/25/incredible-footage-f-117s-flying-low-level/

Modificato 27 Aprile 2023 da engine

[TT-1 Pinto]

Un fotografo ha scattato incredibili foto di cacciabombardieri F-117 che volano a bassa quota …

... theaviationist.com ... https://theaviationist.com/2024/04/07/photographer-snaps-incredible-shots-of-low-flying-f-117-jets/ ...