In 1974, the US Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) set
in motion a series of competitions that
ultimately led on October 10, 1977, to
a one-year $11.1-million contract for
Lockheed to develop a concept for the
Advanced Technology Aircraft ‘A’ (ATA
‘A’). The very low-observable (VLO),
single-seat attack aircraft was required
to carry a 5,000lb payload and have
an unrefueled range of 400nm. As
the ‘Skunk Works’ team continued its
assimilation, it became apparent that
the elite Lockheed department had
achieved a transformational reduction
in radar cross-section (RCS) values,
which generated an explicit operational
advantage. Consequently, in summer
1978, USAF officials moved ATA ‘A’ to full-F-117 pilots each
earned a unique
‘Bandit’ number
— there were
557 operational
F-117 pilots. They
started with
‘Bandit 150’, Maj
Al Whitley; the
last was the then
Brig Gen David
Goldfein, who
was ‘Bandit 708’.
Jamie Hunterhttp://www.combataircraft.net // June 2018 53
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