And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Copied forward. BTW the USAF has apparently never acknowledged the USAF designators for the Constant Peg aircraft, nor has it denied them. It has just leaked out over time.
From the previous F-117 post:
To be most accurate it should probably be called an Attack aircraft. But the “F” designation is less about “fighters” and more about relatively small fast combat jets with crews of one or two.
There was some design work to equip it with air-to-air missiles, but that was not followed up.
Even among black programs its development and existence was a close-kept secret. However, an unclassified designation was needed to refer to it for administrative reasons, for pilots to log flight hours in the unclassified USAF system, etc.
So its designation was hidden among the designations for another classified set of programs that were a little more widely known, and came to be called Constant Peg, which was also operated from Nevada.
Constant Peg flew actual ComBloc fighters and interceptors in an adversary role against US pilots. The aircraft were covertly obtained and sent to the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron at a new secret base: Tonapah Range in Nevada, that also became the home of the F-117.
The ComBloc fighters had their true identities obscured by using USAF designations in the Century series: YF-110 for Mig-21, YF-113 for MIG-23, and YF-114 for MiG-17. YF-115 and YF-116 are unknown, but there were other types of Soviet designed aircraft obtained. And possibly other US prototypes, not necessarily fighters, that are still classified.
Anyway, designating the Nighthawk F-117 at the same base within the same Century series helped hide its existence and true nature. Constant Peg flew missions during the daytime, Nighthawk flew only at night.
I think I know the concept is this airplane is a whole "lifting body". However, I'm still awed that this thing flies. Craziest looking flying machine ever, IMHO.
What I've never had explained is how it was classified as a fighter when it had no guns or missiles.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
Marketing
DeleteSomeone explain it in a recent post. It was apparently an attempt at misclassification to confuse spies.
DeleteCopied forward. BTW the USAF has apparently never acknowledged the USAF designators for the Constant Peg aircraft, nor has it denied them. It has just leaked out over time.
DeleteFrom the previous F-117 post:
To be most accurate it should probably be called an Attack aircraft. But the “F” designation is less about “fighters” and more about relatively small fast combat jets with crews of one or two.
There was some design work to equip it with air-to-air missiles, but that was not followed up.
Even among black programs its development and existence was a close-kept secret. However, an unclassified designation was needed to refer to it for administrative reasons, for pilots to log flight hours in the unclassified USAF system, etc.
So its designation was hidden among the designations for another classified set of programs that were a little more widely known, and came to be called Constant Peg, which was also operated from Nevada.
Constant Peg flew actual ComBloc fighters and interceptors in an adversary role against US pilots. The aircraft were covertly obtained and sent to the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron at a new secret base: Tonapah Range in Nevada, that also became the home of the F-117.
The ComBloc fighters had their true identities obscured by using USAF designations in the Century series: YF-110 for Mig-21, YF-113 for MIG-23, and YF-114 for MiG-17. YF-115 and YF-116 are unknown, but there were other types of Soviet designed aircraft obtained. And possibly other US prototypes, not necessarily fighters, that are still classified.
Anyway, designating the Nighthawk F-117 at the same base within the same Century series helped hide its existence and true nature. Constant Peg flew missions during the daytime, Nighthawk flew only at night.
$$$
ReplyDeleteNot all heroes wear missles and guns. However some bombs can be deployed in a dive at a rate much higher than missles.
ReplyDeleteI think I know the concept is this airplane is a whole "lifting body". However, I'm still awed that this thing flies. Craziest looking flying machine ever, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteNemo
Check with Wikipedia: lifting body, flying wing, blended wing-body, etc.
ReplyDelete