Lockheed Have Blue 1001 & the Lockheed F-117A Night Hawk Stealth, Rev. 1

Lockheed Have Blue 1001 

The US Air Force established a classified project called "Have Blue" to study the feasibility of developing stealthy combat aircraft with low or no radar or infrared signatures. The aircraft was envisioned to penetrate dense threat environments and attack high value targets. Lockheed Aircraft, known for their "Skunk Works" developing radical advanced aircraft, was awarded a classified contract in 1973 to study the "Have Blue" concept and design and build such a test aircraft. Have Blue used "off the shelf" software, hardware and engines from other aircraft in an entirely new concept airframe called Have Blue 1001. This aircraft was the precursor of the super-secret development at Groom Lake, Nevada  (Area 51) of the production Lockheed F-117A Night Hawk first used in the invasion of Panama and later in combat in the 1991 Gulf War.

The Have Blue  1001 aircraft prototypes proved the "faceting" of airframe surfaces concept and special conductive coatings to minimize or eliminate radar and infrared  reflective signatures. The resulting prototype aircraft design looked remarkably like the production F-117A Night Hawk, with some differences. The fly-by-wire and the side stick controller of the General Dynamics F-16 Falcon fighter were used, together with the landing gear from the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and engines from the Rockwell T-2 Buckeye trainer. There were three static pressure sensors on the forward fuselage and three total pressure (dynamic Q) probes, one on the nose and two on the cockpit windscreen center post. The entire canopy used faceted windows without curves. The two engine exhausts met at a common point on centerline with lower portion of the nozzle forming a two-position pressure plate that automatically deflected down when the angle of attack of the aircraft exceeded twelve degrees. The two fins canted inward, mounted on the outside of the rear fuselage body. The fixed wings' leading edge was set at an acute 72.5 degree angle. 

Little if anything (probably nothing) was made public about the Have Blue 1001 prototype aircraft performance, and test flights were conducted from Area 51 on dark, moonless nights. Still, some Nevada residents reported seeing a strange shape flying at "incredible" speeds, somewhat bat-like in shape. There was no official confirmation or denial of any of these reports. Another oddity was the production and sale of a "stealth" aircraft kit by a model aircraft plastic kit manufacturer that looked amazingly like the eventual production F-117A Night Hawk.

Two experimental stealth "Have Blue" research aircraft first flew in 1977 at Area 51. An accident destroyed one of the prototypes, but the other completed the test program with successful meeting of requirements. Federal and contractor employees and military personnel could not talk of their work at Area 51 with family or anyone, as the project was carried out under great secrecy.

Lockheed F-117A Night Hawk 

Sixty-five production F-117A Night Hawk aircraft were ordered by the USAF and produced by Lockheed. The first flight of a production aircraft was in 1981, and they entered USAF service in 1983. During the first seven years, they flew almost exclusively at night to preserve secrecy  of the mission capability. Stories were told, however, of seeing flights on dark nights to deliver the aircraft and immediately hangar them at their eventual basing. The F-117A is a single seat, subsonic stealth interdictor aircraft with two non-afterburning General Electric F404-GE-F1D2 10, 809 lb-thrust turbofans. The engines have shielded-slot exhausts that dissipate heat emissions with special cold air mixing. Heat-shielding tiles are also used. The aircraft's angled-flat surfaces (facets) scatter incoming radar energy. Construction is aluminum and composites. Special RAM (radar-absorbent material) is used for aircraft conductive coating. Finish is flat black. Tricycle landing gear is completely retractible.

The wings are swept at 67 degrees, reducing radar reflectivity and increasing speed; this also differing from the prototypes. The tail fins are canted outward, differing again from the Have Blue 1001 prototypes. In this position they help shield the engine exhaust from infrared detection. The pyramid-like flat surfaces canopy is restrictive to the pilot who has all-glass video panel displays. Four faceted plastic air data sensors and metal sensor probes are in the aircraft's nose. Recessed in the nose are two imaging infrared turrets, FLIR (forward looking infrared) and DLIR (downward looking infrared). These are integrated with and provide data for the weapons release system.

The armament is carried on swing-down carriages in the two internal bays. There are quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire controls, head-up and head-down displays, a nav/attack system and laser communications. The aircraft is said to be unstable, incapable of flight without computer control, hence the redundant systems. In the Gulf War, the aircraft were fielded by the USAF 37th Tactical Fighter Wing (based at Tonapah, Nevada) where they flew 1,271 missions in operation Desert Shield, then over Iraq in the 1991 Gulf war in operation Desert Storm and in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Serbia and Panama.  They were deployed over the Balkans where one F-117A was downed by enemy fire. On rare occasions their missions were supported by General Dynamics EF-111 Ravens (a swing-wing electronic-warfare aircraft); also by McDonnell F-4G Wild Weasels carrying AGM-88B HARM missiles. (I managed the HARM missile support program at Naval Air Warfare Center Point Mugu for 12 years until my retirement in January, 1995).

The above photographed F-117A aircraft 84-825 is attached to the 49th Fighter Wing (the "Black Sheep" based at Holloman AFB, New Mexico (with HO tails) of Air Combat Command, Headquarters at Langley AFB, Virginia, and was a visitor to the 2007 Naval Base Ventura County Airshow held at the Naval Air Warfare Station NTD, Point Mugu, California. Their F-117As have proved to be reliable and maintainable. The F-117A Night Hawks are to be replaced by the Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor.

Addenda 14 March 2008-Next month in April 2008 the US Air Force will retire the last of its fleet of the F-117As. The USAF retired 10 of the F-117As at the end of 2006 and 27 more since. The remaining aircraft in service will go to prepared storage at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, where the Nighthawks were originally based. They will probably be grounded for good because of their high cost of maintenance per flight hour and obsolescence of their technology. Better stealth and capability is on line available from the F-22 Raptor fighter bomber. Six F-117As were lost in crashes and one was shot down by hostile forces over Serbia, as noted.

A companion F-117A Night Hawk tail fin from the 49th Fighter Wing 84-0827 'Black Sheep' aircraft is shown below.

Click on the top photo to see the 84-825 Aircraft Profile page and another photo. 

Specifications: 

 
Engine: two F404-GE-F1D2 non-afterburning 10,809 lb-thrust turbofans

Wing Span: 43' 4"

Wing Area: about 1,140 sq ft 

Length: 65' 11" 

Height: 12' 5"

Weights: Empty-approximately 29,983 lb

              Maximum takeoff: 52,500 lb

Performance:

Max Speed: estimated 0.92 Mach  to 1.0 Mach  

Service Ceiling: Classified 

Combat Radius: 746 miles unrefueled with 4,960 lb weapon load

Range: Classified

In-flight refueling: From standard KC-135 probe via receptacle

running along aircraft's spine with flush housing except in use.

Armament: 

Up to 5,000 lb of munitions on rotary dispenser from weapons bays

Variety of missiles and laser-guided bombs

Principal weapons: GBU-10/GBU-12 Paveway II,

GBU-27/B Paveway III, GBU-27/A/B Paveway III laser-guided bombs

AGM-65 Maverick or AGM-88 HARM missiles can also be carried and launched

All data derived from unclassified/declassified sources.