RIP Nighthawk Stealth Attack Aircraft...or not?

if I'm not mistaken, the delta wing has been around since the 1930's, at least 40 years before the nighthawk was built

Funny thing about the 117 it’s actually a bomber and not a fighter, but because of the Genova convention to put a new bomber in we had to take one out but we had a few open fighter slots open so we basically went ok that’s a fighter that only dose bombing missions

As old as it is, it still looks menacing

America is probably trying to minimise the number of times get radar hits on the B2 F22 and F35.

They use some to train some pilots

Saw two flying while camping in Owen's Valley California last year, usually F-15s and F-18s but these were obvious. So cool

Grow up to all world leaders they live they tell us whats what and whos the threat ..has anyone came to America and taken your house ? No and thats not because of our wars thats there bullshit they own news own and teach us everything we thjnk we know but at same time have more secrets important info we need to know ..so U.S. Government lies abd hides everything from us while not wanting us to be able to do anything without there breaking U.S. constitution and our right to privacy..think people who are you loyal too ? Federal Government or to America to us to human kind dont follow people you are all adults wake up

I like that you mentioned the Yugo incident. The pilot that was shot down was flying someone else's plane too. It's written on the side of the cockpit. This story is interesting on its own as there is a lot involved, including the fact that before that day the sorties were ran on different flight paths, while this time they used the same one. And the Yugoslavian's were expecting them. They had a lot of planning on their side, and a little bit of luck. If I recall, it had something to do with the bomb bay doors being open, being a vulnerable point in the F-117's stealth.

Three interesting things about the F-117. 1. Its designation as a fighter was pure nonsense. It was a bomber. It could not have fought its way out of a paper bag. 2. The mathematics used to create it came from the published paper of a Russian mathematician. 3. It was supposed to have been painted sky blue colors to reduce its visibility in light. The Air Force refused because, get this, they said no fighter pilot would be caught dead in a baby blue fighter. To fully understand the idiocy of this decision, see item 1. If the people who created this aircraft said it needed to be pink, they should have said yes. Science doesn’t care about the Air Force pilot’s fragile masculinity. Last point. The comments about how one was shot down because it followed the same path has little credibility. First, it cannot be seen at night when it’s flying. (With a sky color scheme it could have been used in daylight, but anyway.) Secondly, even if I know where it is flying, without a radar lock it would be like throwing a baseball. I wouldn’t be surprised if that day the sun allowed it to be seen (in black), thereby making it possible to map the tiny radar return to what they could see, and lock on that. I don’t believe a definitive explanation has been published, perhaps because the method was a lucky triangulation that could be honed if widely known.

Why couldn’t they use a B 21 raider?

Why is not classified as a bomber instead of a fighter?

It is still the best stealth attacker.

Why wouldnt you use cruise missle's to practice on cruise missle's. Disarmed naturally. I'm not buying them using the Nighthawk to practice. Tha said, my quialifications are I'm a contractor and hence know nothing about the Air Force.

Ex-military guys always claim to be idiots. And are always a significant cut above the rest.

I think that's what we call "smart enough to know how dumb you are" which the vast majority never actually achieve.

I take issue regarding the BUFF. 😅
It remains an impressive airship. I never tired of observing takeoffs & landings.
It's a beast & a workhorse.

I'm 100% willing to believe that the military is using some modified/updated Nighthawks. That jet was my obsession when I was 11.

A very interesting video. I would add to the significant number of wise points in the video and on here alluding to the existence of significant limitations to the F117. First, the reason it did not have GPS back in the Gulf War, is that GPS-Navstar (as it was called then) was only just becoming available and no military aircraft had it available for use at that time. Part of the problem was there was insufficient satellites actually up there in space in 1991 and the GPS system, limited as it was, had 'dark' periods where position triangulation was just not technically possible.

The next observation would be that laser-guided bombs are completely weather dependent as lasers do not 'see' through cloud. Therefore the F117 required , typically, a cloud ceiling of 20,000 feet - something that you could never rely upon for operations in Europe. That is particularly so when the F117 pilot has to visually acquire the target, drop the bomb and then guide it to the target from a great height whilst constantly tracking it. More recent munitions like JDAM use GPS (now available obviously) and they do not require pilot visibility of the target at any point.

Finally, any military aircraft operating without a weather radar in European-type airspace between 20,000 - 30,000 feet is opening the door to massive potential damage/destruction from Cumulonimbus clouds and storm cells.

In summary, wonderful and revolutionary as the F117 was, it had fundamental flaws that subsequent stealth aircraft have largely eliminated. The arrival of stealth technology was the modern equivalent to the arrival of the crossbow - it absolutely transformed warfare. However, history has shown that technical advantages only last a short time and once the enemy gets their head around the problem, there is always a counter. The shooting down of the first F117 in Serbia was the wake-up call required to show the USAF that the stealth honeymoon was over and the pendulum of war had yet again swung the other way - as it always does.

I remember seeing one up close at Miramar as a kid at an Air Show, but of course, armed guards protecting it. 😅

Good one, Chris. Thank you! I especially appreciated "mothball to fireball."

I'm sad to have argued with someone who insisted it was a fighter by definition because of the "F" designation...

Looked into the first 5 minutes, and I hope the narrator doesn't confuse delta wing design with actual delta wings, or angular shapes in general for that matter.

That weird ridge "wallet", is it real? I don't see where you can have your coins!

The USA leased 40 of these to Israel according to an old book I read.

Also you don't want to be the special force behind enemy line lasering a nuke to target. It's hard on the retina. 😅

The humor was top notch in this one! 😂

There a good story from the gulf war a F117 Wandered into a dog fight between F15C and MIG29 The F117 pilot describe Watching a MIG29 in full afterburner go by his cockpit than a missile go by than an F-15 go by in full afterburner then watch the MIG29 when the F 15 pilot return to the base he was told his kill, was verified by another aircraft answer back what other aircraft which means he never saw the F117 in early plowed into neither did the missile then they realize what they had just said, and kept it quiet and hush-hush after that near Friendly’s shoot down or mid air after the close call F1 17s were given their own flight corridor, and air space that kept other allied aircraft out of the same space

If most "near peer" radars can't detect it unless it gets close and we have better coatings for it now, why not use it?

Alien cheeks...😅😂🤣👍💯🇺🇲

They use them in the aggressor role in training pilots... since they're stealth planes they use them to train pilots tactics and procedures to use against enemy stealth aircraft...

Fun Fact: I was in high school when the F-117 was shot down, and it was discovered because it flew a repeated flight path instead of changing its flight path…a big no-no for planes like these.

40years of usaf radar systems...never unseen, my systems rejected it as not as what we were looking for....we recorded all aspects

I watch your video too enjoy the ads ONLY xD

What do you consider old?

I wouldn't be too surprised if the US Air Force was operating, without telling anyone, a 2nd generation F-117, I mean, no one knew about the Stealth Black Hawk until the Osama Bin Laden raid by Seal Team Six.

The original developers for the F-117 squadrons used the F designator to trick potential pilots into signing up since fighters are more attractive to fly then bombers. Also some countries refuse bombers to be based in or overfly their airspace. The US just pointed at the F designator and said "see it's a F for fighter not a bomber," even though it couldn't carry air to air ordinance or have a gun for self-defense.

sounds like a movie waiting to be made.

Unfortunately, the government would joyfully spend 10k on a hammer...

Why can't america make anything new and stop using cold war era hardware you think your military is invisible to being defeated but you only fought farmers

Nothing makes me more excited than to see old aircraft that should’ve been completely replaced used competitively. The Douglas DC3, Nighthawk, old MIGS, and even this cyberpunk looking birb

Also the B2 has a replacement that follows the same frame design

I love the f117

It’s was cobra commander and destro

When will they start calling it with it's proper name? Aka A117

You are all correct on same routes. Same happened to the downed F-16.
F-117 was shot down by outdated radar. SA-3.
Tyler. 2,000 lb general purpose bombs. Are MK-84s. NOT MK-48s.

The only reason why they shot that f-117 down was because it was raining for one and they could pick up the water glazing the surface but that's not what got the lock what got the lock is the weapons Bay State open way too long and they locked on and shot it down at a short distance plus they started using two radar stations in sync to catch the radar signature that is being bounced away so it would hit the bottom and bounce away at a 90 degree angle and be caught by another radar system that was synchronized with the first even though it was old it actually worked the rain the open payload door and using two radars sinking and a known flight path of the f-117 they kept flying the same known flight path by itself without any support aircraft which is stupid the reason why I got shot down was because the United States got arragent

If the f-117 was a combat soldier it would be a marine sniper

If they put the new coatings on that for radar absorbing material plus the reflective almost Chrome coating that reflects the Russian defense system on their flankers this is actually not a fighter it's more like a sniper it uses stealth to approach and then uses laser-guided bombs or missiles to destroy whatever it is locked on and if it had the new coatings this will be the best stealth aircraft in existence