scale development (FSD). It was a hitherto
unprecedented move.
Covert funds were established and key
government o cials serving on various
Senate committees were briefed on the
program. In November that year, it was
accorded the classi ed cryptonym Senior
Trend, and Lockheed was awarded a full-
scale engineering development contract
for 20 operational airframes, plus ve
FSD aircraft.Unprecedented secrecy
It was very apparent to both Lockheed
and the USAF that the techniques and
technology being ploughed into this
revolutionary aircraft could be copied.
This spurred unprecedented security
measures to protect this ‘perishable’ asset.
Even the F-117 designation didn’t follow
standard protocol. Instead, it was derived
from the highly classi ed designations
being used by the 6513th Test Squadron
‘Red Hats’ as cover identities for the covert
evaluation of foreign aircraft. For example,
a former Iraqi MiG-21F-13 ‘Fishbed’ was
redesignated as the YF-110B. Similarly, twoex-Syrian Arab Air Force MiG-17F ‘Fresco-
Cs’ — known as ‘Have Drill’ and ‘Have Ferry’
— were dubbed the YF-113A and YF-114C
respectively. Even the F-117s’ serials bore
no resemblance to ‘white world’ platforms;
indeed, the prototype serial 780 was
derived from its planned rst ight date,
July 1980, although that date would prove
optimistic.
The unit chosen to y the F-117 was
the 4450th Tactical Group, formed on
October 15, 1979. Referred to as ‘A-unit’,
again to preserve security, it reported
directly to Tactical Air Command’s
director of operations (DO), instead of a
numbered air force.
While work on the prototype
continued at Burbank, a comprehensive
construction program began at the
aircraft’s covert operational base —
Tonopah Test Range (TTR). Located in
the north-west corner of the Nevada Test
and Training Range (NTTR), this remote
site was already home to the super-secret
4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron
‘Red Eagles’, operating Soviet aircraft as
the ultimate adversaries to train front-
line pilots.Lockheed’s full-
scale Advanced
Technology
Aircraft ‘A’ model
undertakes radar
cross-section
testing on the
radar scatter
(RATSCAT) range
at White Sands,
New Mexico.
Lockheed MartinLockheed was contracted to build two
Have Blue technology demonstrators —
Have Blue Two was the low-RCS aircraft.
Lockheed MartinLockheed chief test pilot Hal Farley
(‘Bandit 117’) completed the prototype
F-117’s fi rst fl ight from Groom Lake in the
early hours of June 18, 1981.
Lockheed Martin54 June 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
FEATURE ARTICLE // ‘SKUNK WORKS’ AT 75: F-117
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