Farewell to "pioneer" of future fighter aviation

  • Published
  • By Airman Sondra M. Wieseler
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  On April 21, 2008, approximately 350 members of Team Holloman filled Heritage Park here to commemorate the successful completion of the F-117A's mission; to fly, fight and win.

The Sunset Stealth retirement ceremony was a chance for everyone to bid their final farewells as they watched the last four F-117A Nighthawks fly overhead to their new resting place in Tonopah, Nevada; where the aircraft will be put in a recallable state of storage.

The guest speaker of the event had an essential role in the development of the F-117, former Secretary of Defense, Dr. William Perry.

In 1977, Dr. Perry became the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering where he was responsible for all weapons systems procurement and all research and stealth development; in fact, some have called him "the godfather of stealth". He became Secretary of Defense in 1993 and remained in this position until 1997.

"I was introduced to the concept at the Advance Research Projects Agency in the spring of 1977," said Dr. Perry about the development of the F-117. "I saw immediately that this could be really important game changing, so I authorized a prototype aircraft to be built to prove that what they claim, namely that this aircraft could not be detected by radars, was true."

Within 6 months, prototype aircraft were built and flown over a radar range where it went undetected.

And it was born, the future of fighter aviation, the stealth.

"In the fall of 1977, I authorized full scale development of the F-117," said Dr. Perry. "At that stage, we tried to transition from an ARPA program to the Air Force. So the full scale development began."

"I have very strong and very good memories of the early days when we were developing the F-117A in the late 70's," said Dr. Perry. "[Being asked to be the guest speaker] brought back memories of pride when I saw its performance in Desert Storm, when it did exactly what we thought it would do but what most people did not believe it could do."

In Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the F-117A was used to attack some of the most heavily defended targets in Iraq, and not one aircraft was shot down or damaged. It was the only U.S. or coalition aircraft to strike targets in downtown Baghdad.

"Not only did the F-117 demonstrate its capability and importance in Desert Storm, the most important point of all is that no American fighter airplane will be built in the future that does not incorporate the design features of the F-117," added Dr. Perry.

Since it's unveiling, the F-117A has been used in every U.S. armed conflict, including Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 --its first use in combat, where Brigadier General Greg Feest, dropped the first bombs.

General Feest, now the deputy director for force application, directorate of force structure, resources and assessment, joint staff, at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., was in attendance at the ceremony here Monday.

"It's a sad day," said General Feest. "But now were looking toward the future of the F-22A. The F-22A can do the mission and much, much more. It's time to move on."

April 21, 2008 may have been the end of the F-117A, but the legacy of the Nighthawk paved the way for future capabilities.

"I see the future as being an extrapolation," said Dr. Perry. "The combinations of the stealth plus the modern air-to-air missiles are the way fighter airplanes will operate in the future."

The F-117A Nighthawk will be replaced by the F-22A Raptor, the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft. The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles vital to today's mission.

"The F-117 ended a real revolution in airplane design," said Dr. Perry. "Given the success of the F-117 no other American fighter airplane will ever be built without the characteristics of the F-117, so it was the pioneer. It was the first."

"We're the greatest Air Force in the world and we'll continue to move ahead and look to the future," said General Feest. "Now we'll have the F-22A and, eventually, the F-35 to give us air dominance for a long time to come."