F-117 to be retired this year

http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123088771

Doesn't seem like they have been around long enough to retire them.

Darkwing wrote:
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123088771

Doesn't seem like they have been around long enough to retire them.



According to the article 27 years and I'd bet they main reason is they
probably need to be re-skinned in order to maintain their stealth. And
that would probably cost more now than building them did when they were
new.

"Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote in message
...
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123088771

Doesn't seem like they have been around long enough to retire them.

20+ years of service for the first iteration of such a breakthrough
technology is a pretty good run IMO. Make no mistake--the F-117 is a success
story given the amount of untold $trillions spent on technologies that never
made it to a deployable stage.

I think we'll see even shorter lifespans for some of our newer weapons
systems as advancements in research gets steeper and steeper.

Marco

I wonder if the thought is the F117's mission can be done with
pilotless drones now? Why risk a pilot if he or she can be replaced
with GPS and an IC chip?

I'm ignorant of such things, maybe someone with more information can
tell us what 117 mission could not have been accomplished by a
remotely controlled stealthy drone.



On Mar 10, 10:12*am, "Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com wrote:
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123088771

Doesn't seem like they have been around long enough to retire them.

"Tina" wrote in message

I wonder if the thought is the F117's mission can be done with
pilotless drones now? Why risk a pilot if he or she can be replaced
with GPS and an IC chip?

We're close to being there. Boeing and others are working on combat UAVs,
but the technology is still very much in the R&D phase. Meanwhile, the -117
is beng replaced by the F-22 Raptor which by all the accounts I've read, is
quite a bit more capable than the -117.

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Recently, John T posted:

"Tina" wrote in message

I wonder if the thought is the F117's mission can be done with
pilotless drones now? Why risk a pilot if he or she can be replaced
with GPS and an IC chip?

We're close to being there. Boeing and others are working on combat
UAVs, but the technology is still very much in the R&D phase.
Meanwhile, the -117 is beng replaced by the F-22 Raptor which by all
the accounts I've read, is quite a bit more capable than the -117.

Are the missions of the F-117 and F-22 all that similar?

Neil

Neil Gould wrote:
Recently, John T posted:

"Tina" wrote in message

I wonder if the thought is the F117's mission can be done with
pilotless drones now? Why risk a pilot if he or she can be replaced
with GPS and an IC chip?
We're close to being there. Boeing and others are working on combat
UAVs, but the technology is still very much in the R&D phase.
Meanwhile, the -117 is beng replaced by the F-22 Raptor which by all
the accounts I've read, is quite a bit more capable than the -117.

Are the missions of the F-117 and F-22 all that similar?

Neil




Sure the F22 can do what the F117 can do and defend itself. The only
exception is the ability of the 117 to carry a 2K pound bomb.

F22 Load

Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A2 Vulcan gatling gun in starboard wing
root, 480 rounds
Air to air loadout:
6× AIM-120 AMRAAM
2× AIM-9 Sidewinder
Air to ground loadout:
2× AIM-120 AMRAAM and
2× AIM-9 Sidewinder and one of the following:
2× 1,000 lb (450 kg) JDAM or
2× Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers (WCMDs) or
8× 250 lb (110 kg) GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs


F117 Load

2× internal weapons bays with one hardpoint each (total of two weapons)
equipped to carry:
Bombs:
BLU-109 hardened penetrator
GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb
JDAM INS/GPS guided munition

Recently, Gig 601XL Builder posted:

Neil Gould wrote:

Are the missions of the F-117 and F-22 all that similar?


Sure the F22 can do what the F117 can do and defend itself. The only
exception is the ability of the 117 to carry a 2K pound bomb.

F22 Load

Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A2 Vulcan gatling gun in starboard wing
root, 480 rounds
Air to air loadout:
6× AIM-120 AMRAAM
2× AIM-9 Sidewinder
Air to ground loadout:
2× AIM-120 AMRAAM and
2× AIM-9 Sidewinder and one of the following:
2× 1,000 lb (450 kg) JDAM or
2× Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers (WCMDs) or
8× 250 lb (110 kg) GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs


F117 Load

2× internal weapons bays with one hardpoint each (total of two
weapons) equipped to carry:
Bombs:
BLU-109 hardened penetrator
GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb
JDAM INS/GPS guided munition

This doesn't look all that similar to me. The F-117 seems to be a stealth
strike configuration, while the F-22 is also suited to be an air-to-air
fighter, more like a stealthy replacement for the F-16. What am I
overlooking?

Best,

Neil

John T wrote:
"Tina" wrote in message

I wonder if the thought is the F117's mission can be done with
pilotless drones now? Why risk a pilot if he or she can be replaced
with GPS and an IC chip?

We're close to being there. Boeing and others are working on combat UAVs,
but the technology is still very much in the R&D phase. Meanwhile, the -117
is beng replaced by the F-22 Raptor which by all the accounts I've read, is
quite a bit more capable than the -117.


The big draw back is the F-117 should have been called the A-117 as it
really isn't a fighter. It has no ability to defend itself except to
hide which it does very well. Remember it is a night only weapon which
does limit it's usefulness somewhat.

The USAF needs the cash to buy F22s. That thing is almost as stealthy as
the F117 and has shown the ability to beat F15s in 2 on 8 before the 8
F15s have even know the 2 F22s are there. And it will carry bombs.

Gig 601XL Builder wrote:


The big draw back is the F-117 should have been called the A-117 as it
really isn't a fighter. It has no ability to defend itself except to
hide which it does very well. Remember it is a night only weapon which
does limit it's usefulness somewhat.


I always wondered what the AF was thinking when they came up with the F-117
designation. There's absolutely nothing "fighter" about it. Even older
attack jets like the A-7 had some ability to engage other aircraft.

Years ago at Holloman I asked an F-117 pilot about the fighter designation.
His reply was that he didn't know either. He said, "Everyone knows that this
thing couldn't fight its way out of a paper bag".

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

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