The F117 "Nighthawk" fighter is a first-class fighter of the United States Air Force, and it is also the world's first fighter developed using first-class technology.
The F117 was developed by Lockheed, and its basic principles were extracted from the "Blue Project". The first battle of the F117 was the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. During this time, two F117 fighters attacked a military base in Panama. However, this operation was not very successful because of communication errors and a temporary change in plans.
In the 1991 Battle of the Persian Gulf, F117 fighters played an important role. In more than 1,300 combat operations, the F117 completed a total of 6,905 air operations and destroyed more than 1,600 important targets, accounting for more than 40% of the entire combat plan.
Despite the fact that the F-117 has played a significant role in many air raids, the U.S. Department of Defense decided in 2006 to reduce the budget and retire all F117s in the coming years. In April 2008, it was officially announced that the F117 had been withdrawn from combat and that its last test flight had been completed in August 2008.
In September this year, the U.S. Air Force once again engaged in F117 exercises, and people speculated that this should be because the F117's stealth capabilities are getting stronger and stronger, so the F117 will be sent as an imaginary enemy.
In the early 1980s, during the Cold War, the US team urgently needed to develop a stealth fighter that could compete with an enemy like the Soviet Union. This is where the F117 "Nighthawk" comes in. The purpose of the development is to carry out accurate attacks on the most valuable targets when the radar cannot detect them.
The biggest feature of the Nighthawk F117 is its ** design. The aircraft adopts an advanced structural design, absorbing radar paint and special materials to reduce the radar's reflective cross-section, making it difficult for radar to detect it. It also contains some detailed information about the stealth effect, such as the design of the intake tract and the exhaust of the engine, which are designed to minimize radar reflections.
The development of the F117 Nighthawk fighter is a mysterious one, and the US authorities have long kept it a secret**. The aircraft made its first test flight in 1981 and began official service in 1983. In the Panama Campaign in 1989 and the Persian Gulf Campaign in 1991, the F117 "Nighthawk" fighter was put into combat for the first time on the battlefield, demonstrating its excellent performance and attack performance, and completing many combat operations.
The F117 Nighthawk is armed with two laser missiles or other sophisticated navigation devices. This missile has a high degree of accuracy and can accurately hit the enemy's air defense equipment and control systems of the highest value. In addition to ground strikes, its combat effectiveness also has special tasks such as electronic warfare.
Due to advances in stealth technology and the advent of more sophisticated stealth fighters, the F117 Nighthawk was officially announced to be retired in 2008. However, the historical value of its legacy is significant. The development of the F117 "Nighthawk" stealth fighter is not only a powerful verification of the stealth capability in modern warfare, but also an important reference for the development of China's future stealth fighter.
The F117 Nighthawk was a key player in the U.S. Air Force throughout the Cold War and in several subsequent campaigns. Its precision strike is an important topic in the military development of the world today, and it is also an important part of the development of fighters in the future. The influence of the Nighthawk F117 will be known for a long time. February** Power Stimulation Program