F-117A

F-117A Nighthawk

The U.S. always had been under the threat of hostile radar systems and the ground-to-air missiles at the so-called "cold war" era. Therefore the stealth technology has attracted the attention of the U.S. Air Force and developed by the Lockheed, the project team was called "Skunk Works". The concept of stealth technology was to defeat the radar signal given off by the hostile defense systems. F-117A Night hawk was the first stealth fighter proven for the evidence of stealth technology. This aircraft has been covered up in secrecy for a long time. However, the public was finally allowed to see the photograph published by the Department of Defense in 1988. The F-117A looks so strange compared with conventional fighters. For example, it has an angular fuselage composed of black surfaces with radar-absorbent paint to minimize any radar detection, no curved wings, and V-tail with good direction control. The first operation to use the F-117A was the Persian Gulf conflict. A number of F-117A flew in secret and accomplished a surprise attack on the communication institution and Air Force headquarters without loss of one F-117A even though it had the stiff defense. Furthermore, the F-117A showed off to the public its attacking capability done by precision laser-guided missile "GBU-27" through the media all over the world. The F-117A successfully proved the effectiveness of stealth technology.

By Tamiya