Part 3: PRODUCTION AND OPERATION­ALSERVICE:

The advent of the new aircraft's develop­ment and flight test program, under the manage­ment of the Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Division, brought with it the added security requirement of communication without identifica­tion. Accordingly, similar to other exotic aircraft types flying in the southern Nevada area, an arbi­trary radio call of "117" was assigned. This same radio call had been used by the enigmatic 4477th "Red Hats/Red Eagles" unit that often had flown expatriated MiGs in the area, but there was no relationship to the call and the formal F-19 desig­nation then being considered by the Air Force. Apparently, use of the "117" radio call became commonplace and when Lockheed released its first flight manual ("dash one"), F-11 7A was the designation imprinted on the cover.

Additionally, though not officially acknowl­edged, the aircraft has acquired several nick­names. Pilot's and the press have, on occasion, referred to the aircraft as the Wobbly Goblin or Bat Jet, and there is some indication that the codename Blue Maria was utilized. However, the name that has now been formally chosen for the F-1 17A is Nighthawk.

The first production aircraft, 785, was flown on January 15, 1982. With production concur­rence at an average rate of eight aircraft per year, initial operational capability was achieved during October of 1983, only twenty-eight months after the F 117A's first flight. The last of fifty-nine aircraft was completed and delivered to the Air Force's Tactical Air Command during June of 1990.

Flight testing of the F-11 7A was undertaken at both Groom Lake and a new facility at the old WWII-vintage Tonopah Test Range Airfield (elevation, 5,540 ft.) 140 miles northwest of Las Vegas (and Nellis AFB), Nevada and conveniently posi­tioned between the Cactus and Kawich mountain ranges. Located near the old silver mining town of Tonopah and often referred to as TTR (Tonopah Test Range), it had undergone a major refurbish­ment following a 1981 Air Force decision to move all F-117 operational activity from Groom Lake (though all first flights, following truck delivery from Lockheed, continued to be conducted there). Refurbishment, as part of the original Lockheed contract, included the construction of some 54 hangars, a general runway overhaul including a length increase from 10,000 to 12,500 ft., and accommodations for some 2,500 personnel.

Pilot recruitment for the program primarily was on a volunteer basis. Tours were for three years (this requirement is now being changed to two) and crews were not allowed to bring their fam­ilies to Tonopah (instead, they were forced to find accommodation for them in nearby desert towns or in Las Vegas proper. They commuted between home and base via contract transport air­craft, usually Key Airline.

Minimum flight time required as pilot-in-command was 1,000 hours. Initial training took place in Vought A-7Ds. Throughout 1989, concurrent with the formation of the 37th TFW, these were replaced by Northrop T-38As and AT-38As during daylight flights, and this was followed by preliminary hops out to a radius of 200 miles from Tonopah in the F-11 7A at night. As pro­ficiency increased, longer flights were undertaken, until the pilot was declared both proficient and combat ready. To date, the longest missions known to have been flown in the F-117 have lasted some 12 hours with inflight refueling. Present prac­tice sortie rates result in pilots logging 15 to 20 hours per month in the F-1 17A and another 5 or 6 hours per month in the AT-38.

The first operational-standard production air­craft was turned over to the Tactical Air Command's 4450th Tactical Group during 1982, and on October 26, 1983, initial operational capa­bility (IOC) was attained (with the 415th TFS; the 416th followed during January). The group initially was a direct reporting unit to the Tactical Air Command, Langley AFB, Virginia. During 1985, however, operational command was transferred to the Tactical Fighter Weapons Center, Nellis, AFB, Nevada. During October of 1989, it became the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing (under the operational command of the 12th Air Force, headquartered at Bergstrom AFB, Texas) comprised of the 415th and 416th Tactical Fighter Squadrons, and the 417^th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron. The 37^th has now given up its aircraft to the 49^th Tactical Fighter Wing and the unit has been moved from Tonopa to Holman AFB, New Mexico. This took place during the spring of 1992. Holloman has lost the 479th Tactical Training Wing which oper­ated111 Northrop T-38A/AT-38B aircraft. Weather, traffic, and airspace availability have been cited as reasons for the move. However, accessibility to the White Sands Missile Range and McGregor, Oscura, Beak, and Talon ranges for training were important factors. Following the move, Tonopah became a deployment site for Red Flag.

Prior to public acknowledgement of the air­craft by the Department of Defense during November of 1988, all information pertaining to its existence and activities was denied. All flight oper­ations from Tonopah were conducted at night, and special precautions, such as keeping the aircraft hangar-bound until 30 minutes after sunset, and conducting ground operations in blacked-out con­ditions, were standard.

Because of these constraints, pilot work­loads (which sometimes involved two flights a night) were considered inordinately high and there were problems. Complaints concerning spatial disorientation and fatigue were not uncommon, and at least two of three acknowledged accidents were thought to have been attributable to related difficulties. The first production aircraft crashed on June 21, 1982 during a test flight on the Nellis range (the Lockheed pilot survived). Later, two other aircraft crashed, these including 81-0792 on July 11, 1986 15 n. miles northeast of Bakersfield, California, and 83-0815 on October 14, 1987, on the Nellis range. In both of the latter accidents the Air Force pilots, Maj. Ross E. Mulhare and Maj. Michael C. Stewart, respectively, were killed.

On the plus side, the 37th TFW already has been recognized for its distinguished service and accomplishments. Top performance has earned it superior ratings during Operational Readiness Inspections. During 1988, the 4450th TG was

awarded the TAC Commander's Maintenance Award in the Special Mission category. During 1989, the Air Force Association honored the F­11 7A program with its "Most Outstanding Service to National Defense in Manned Flight" award. Perhaps most significantly, during the same year, the prestigious Collier Trophy for "The Greatest Achievement in Aeronautics or Astronautics in America" was presented to "Ben R. Rich and the entire Lockheed/Air Force team for the production and deployment of the F-117A stealth aircraft which changes the entire concept of military air­craft design and combat deployment for the future".

Daylight proficiency was not ignored during this period and accommodating this were mis­sions in Vought A-7Ds assigned to the 4450th. Tailcoded LV, these aircraft were standard Corsair Its and, contrary to popular impression, were not specially modified in any way. On several occasions, the A-7Ds were spotted "out of coun­try"-most notably in England. The A-7Ds, as mentioned previously, were replaced by T-38s during 1989. Additionally, it should be noted that an exchange program with the F-1 17A exists and that at least one Royal Air Force pilot has been involved.

Since assuming the stealth mission, the 37th TFW has twice taken part in combat operations. The wing's F-117As led the attack against Panama on December 21, 1989 during Operation Just Cause. Pinpoint bombing stunned and dis­rupted the Panamanian infantry at Rio Hato and paved the way for US paratroopers to land and eventually overcome the Panamanian opposition. This operation, though successful, did not test the aircraft from a low-observable standpoint as Panama had no radar defense network.

The F117’s second combat tour began on August 17, 1990, when the 37^th TFW received its deployment order to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield. On August 21, eighteen F-117As from the 37th's 415th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) arrived at King Khalid Air Base. These air­craft had departed from Tonapah on August 19 and after a brief stop enroute at Langley AFB, Virginia, had continued on to Saudi Arabia.

On August 23, the 415th TFS launched eight orientation sorties with the Saudis. Three days later, the F-1 17A assumed alert duty for the first time in its history.

On December 3, eighteen F-117As from the second 37th TFW squadron, the 416th TFS, deployed to King Khalid Air Base from Langley AFB. They arrived at their destination the following day.

The following several weeks were spent involved in various training exercises and bringing the unit up to full operational readiness. In the meantime, the international political situation involving the confrontation between Iraq and the US continued to deteriorate. On January 16, the 37th TFWP (now Tactical Fighter Wing Provisional for purposes of alignment with other coalition forces) received orders to execute its D­-day tasking against targets in Iraq; however, the first wave of F-1 17As did not depart on their first combat mission until after midnight.

Twenty-two minutes after midnight, on January 17, ten F-117As from the 415th TFS launched against a combined integrated operations center/ground control intercept site at Nukhayb, two air defense control sector head­quarters facilities, and the Iraqi Air Force Headquarters building in Baghdad, a joint inte­grated operations center/radar facility at AI

Taqaddum, a telephone center at Ar Ramadi and two in Baghdad, a join integrated operations center/radar center at Al Taji,  a North Taji military related facility, and

the Presidential grounds at Abu Ghurayb.

A second wave of twelve F-117As (three from the 415th and nine from the 416th) left shortly afterwards to repeat strikes against the Iraqi Air Force Headquarters, air defense sector head­quarters, and telephone exchanges in Baghdad; the Alo Taqaddum integrated operations center/ground control intercept facility; military related facilities at North Taji, and the Presidential grounds at Abu Ghurayb. New targets included the Salmon Pak troposcatter station; a television transmitter station, international radio transmitter, and the Presidential bunker in Baghdad; Rasheed Airfield; a joint integrated operations center/ground control intercept site at Ar Rutbah; a troposcatter station at Habbaniyah; and the communications satellite terminal at Ad Dujayl.

On January 25,1991, six more F-117s flew from Langley AFB to King Khalid Air Base, where they were assigned to the 416th TFS. Their arrival resulted in a total contingent of 42 combat ready F­-117As.

Operation Desert Storm thus became the first combat environment wherein the F-117A was utilized in a real-world test against a modern, integrated air defense. The Nighthawks of the 37th TFW repeatedly flew into and through intense anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile fire, accurately delivering 2,000 tons of precision­guided munitions during 1,300 combat sorties. Wing pilots scored 1,600 direct hits against enemy targets in nearly 400 locations. Without suffering a single loss, or experiencing any damage, they destroyed hardened command and control bunkers, aircraft shelters, production and storage facilities for nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and other heavily defended targets of the highest military and political significance.

Employing just 2.5% of the Air Force assets in theater, the 37th TFW not only led the UN coali­tion force against Iraq, but also hit nearly 40% of the Iraqi targets that came under fire in the first three days. Twenty-nine F117As hit twenty-six high value targets on the first night alone. The F­117As were so effective that the Iraqi air defense system virtually collapsed. Iraq's command, con­trol, and communications network never recov­ered.

Thereafter, the 37th TFW constantly hit key political and military targets to further weaken Iraqi resistance and to prepare for the ground campaign. Early on, and employing only four F-117As, Baghdad's nuclear research facility was attacked, completely destroying its three reactor cores. Noteworthy is the fact that the F-117s were the only coalition aircraft tasked to fly over Baghdad during the entire Desert Storm operation.

During another strike, the 37th TFW destroyed a whole network of surface-to-air mis­sile sites in central Iraq in the space of one hour, thus enabling B-52s to carpet-bomb Republican Guard positions without fear of interception. Immediately prior to the start of the coalition's ground campaign, the F-1 17As destroyed a com­plex of pumping stations and distribution networks that fed oil into anti-personnel fire trenches in southern Kuwait. This attack earned strong praise and the gratitude of the multinational ground forces.

At 0015 hours on February 28, 1991, the 37th TFWP received good news: all operations had come to an end.

Statistically, during the course of Desert Storm, the 37th TFW compiled a record that is unparalleled in the chronicles of air warfare. The Nighthawks achieved an 8O% hit rate on pinpoint tar­gets (1,669 direct hits and 418 misses) while destroying nearly 40% of all strategic targets attacked by the coalition forces.

The 37th TFW's performance also drew high praise from military and political leaders. In particu­lar, Senator Sam Nunn, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, stated, the F-1 17A to be "the heart of our offensive power and targeting capability." Brigadier General "Buster" Glossen, Fourteenth Air Division Commander, called the 37th TFW "the backbone of the strategic air cam­paign." General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, commented, "You are show­ing the nation what it's all about-the combination of the very highest technology with the very best kind of people we can put together in the field as a team." Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney stated, "You have gone far beyond anything any­body envisioned ... it has been phenomenal."

The F-117A has been placed on alert status on at least two other occasions. An anti-terrorist raid was planned but later cancelled against Libya during April of 1986, and a similar attack against Syria also was planned and cancelled in retaliation for the 1983 bombing of the marine barracks in Lebanon. In both instances, there is some possibil­ity that reported temporary relocating of at least two F-117As to bases in England was undertaken to accommodate such missions.

The Air Force's F-117As presently are sup­ported by the Sacramento Air Logistics Center at McClellan AFB, California. This unit has established a depot at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California (also the location of Northrop B-2 final assembly) specifically to accommodate forthcom­ing F-117A overhaul requirements. At a nearby facility, also on the Palmdale airport, Lockheed maintains an update facility where F-117A systems are continuously upgraded to maintain technologi­cal currency.

As of mid-1995, Air Force units assigned the F-117 are as follows:

Testing (Code ED), 412th OG, 410th FLTS, Palmdale, California

49th Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB, New Mexico consists of 49th OG with 7th FS (Code HO and named Bunys), 8th FS (Code HO and named The Black Sheep), 9th FS (Code HO and named The Iron Knights)

57th TG, 422nd TES, DET 1, Holloman AFB, New Mexico (Code WA)

Sacramento Air Maintenance & Overhaul Logistics Center, McClellan AFB, California, 77th ABW, 337th FLTS

The last production F-117A was delivered July 12^th, 1990