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Wild Blue Yonder 1: 50 Years of Gs & Jets
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Wild Blue Yonder - Episode 1 - 50 Years of Gs and Jets (Digital Ranch) (Spectrum Holobyte)(1-107-40-101)(1994).iso
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00107_Field_107.txt
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1994-08-29
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The Black Jet
The mission of the Lockheed F-117A fighter-bomber is not unusual;
it is designed to attack high-priority, heavily defended targets
with impunity. The way this aircraft performs its mission,
however, is unique. An innovative combination of construction
techniques and materials reduces the radar cross-section (the
reflective surfaces) of the F-117 and allows it to evade enemy
radar. It is one of a new generation of so-called "low
observable" or "stealth" fighters.
The F-117A is also known as the "Nighthawk," although pilots
often call it the "Black Jet." The aircraft is powered by two
double-shaft, augmented low-bypass-ratio turbofans of 10,800
pounds of static thrust apiece at sea level. The air intakes
are oversized, and covered with a composite grid that both
reflects away incoming radar waves and shields the highly
reflective jet engines. The wide slots of the "platypus" exhaust
spread the exhaust plume and cool it, further reducing the radar
cross-section and infrared signature.
The F-117A's distinctive arrowhead shape is also a design
concession, intended to reduce the plane's "observability."
Despite this strange airframe, the aircraft flies in a
conventional manner. This engineering challenge was made easier
because the F-117's mission did not call for a supersonic
aircraft. The U.S. government procured 59 F-117A's at a cost of
$6.56 billion, an average of $111.2 million per plane.