Worlds First Stealth Fighter

The Night Hawk cost 111 million dollars apiece and was discontinued in the USAF after 25 years and replaced with the F-22 or Raptor.  Never the less the F-117 was something unique and incorporated the stealth technology. This technology was published in a research paper presented in 1964 by a Russian scientist named Pyke. The Russians ignored this paper but the engineers at Lockheed studied the paper in detail. In effect, the Prof has stated that a plane could be made that could allow the radar waves to bounce off the plane and thus render the aircraft invisible to detection by radar. it could only be sighted visually.

 It meant making a plane with an unconventional design > it had to have angles of construction, that were of a particular slant so that the radar waves could bounce off. The plane thus had the look of a bat and was christened the Night Hawk. The Night Hawk first flew in 1981 and a few years later was inducted into the USAF. The Night Hawk was a revolutionary design and for 5 years the Americans kept it secret before the world came to know of this unique plane. The Russians rued the development of the F-117 and wondered how they had missed the bus.

 The Night Hawk was put into operational use and used extensively in the air bombardment of Iraq, during the 1992 US-Iraq war. The plane despite a slow speed of some 660km/hr could not be detected. It had a limited range of about 1000 km and thus for a target, it needed mid-air refueling. It carried no defensive armaments relying on its ability to attack a target undetected. It carried 2 x 1000 il laser-guided bombs that could penetrate even 12ft of concrete and was thus a force multiplier.  The Russians were however hard at work to perfect their own stealth fighter and the US the need of another plane was felt. Research started and this led to led to the Raptor, which had a longer range and flew at 3 times the speed of the Night Hawk. Once the Raptor was ready for combat duty, the F117 was phased out, but it served the US interests for 25 years. During this period only one Night Hawk was lost in combat over Serbia when a Russian missile was able to hit it. The pilot was rescued in a dramatic rescue mission, but the plane crashed. Russian engineers as well as Chinese salvaged parts of the plane and took it to Moscow and China to understand stealth technology. Parts of the plane can see be seen in the Museum at Belgrade.

 The F-115 remained the only stealth fighter in the world during the days of the cold war and even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the plane was the mainstay of US offensive action. It was used extensively in Afghanistan when the USA mounted an invasion and no plane was lost despite missiles with the Taliban. It hastened the defeat of the Taliban by a relentless bombardment with laser-guided bombs. The plane was also used in operations in Kosovo and Yugoslavia.

 The Russians were wary of the Night Hawk and later they did develop their own stealth fighter, but one wonders whether the Russian plane is as good as the latest American plane with stealth technology the Raptor. 

Love in the Russian Far East

At one time Russia rivaled the USA as a global power, but then came Gorbochov and we all know that Russia broke up into 18 states. This was also the end of the Russian dream for parity with the USA, as the population was reduced by half and so was the area.

But when Russia was a monolith place under communist rule it was organized and Indians were well respected. As an air force officer of the Indian Air Force, it was a great experience visiting the country. The best part was the Russian girls, golden and blonde who were great company.

I once landed at Moscow airport and a Russian Air Force helicopter whisked me and 2 of my colleagues to the Air Force base. It was a grand welcome and I was given an orderly a Corporal, a Russian girl. She was slim and smart and I will be frank I had lascivious thoughts about her.

 We were told that we would be 'honored' with a flight to the Russian far east, to the Pacific port of Vladivostok. As I was leaving the room I asked the Russian colonel who all were going along. He asked me if there was anyone I would like to accompany me and others. Of the cuff, I blurted if the NCO could come with us. He laughed and went away.

We boarded the supersonic transport early morning. It was the TU 144 and it could fly at Mach 2. It was a rival of the Concorde, but bigger.  I looked around and I was surprised to see my orderly with a knapsack slung on her back also waiting to climb in. This was a freighter version with very few seats. She waved to me and said Thank you for the trip to me.

The flight to the east was magnificent and the girl sat next to me. She had brought a couple of sandwiches of beef and meat and all of us relished them with hot coffee. Come to think of it what a hullaballoo is created now on beef. We landed at the airport, but the Russians were wary of our entering the cockpit, so we just sat as the plane hurtled at Mach 2. What an experience! whew simply unforgettable!

On landing my orderly told me she would be with me as per instructions. We had two days at the place. I asked her if we could go for a bike ride. This delighted her and she arranged a Ural bike. This is the Russian version of the BMW R7. Two days to while away before we fly back. We were told not to leave the base, but I put my orderly now in mufti along with me and drove away. She carried her knapsack and told me she had arranged sandwiches from the mess. We drove deep into Siberia and the Bike a 650 cc monster was simply powerful. We drove among the woods and small forests, and a drizzle began. The girl at the back clung to me. At many places, we saw log huts and we stopped at one of them for the rain to go away. Frankly, I wanted it to rain even more heavily.  We went inside and there were just a stove and a small cot.

I got to know the girl better and for me, these were magical moments with the rain belting away.  The inevitable did happen and I won't go into details of it. Suffice the rain stopped, but we didn't leave and continued for the night and the next day.

With the sun out we drove back to the base, with the cool breeze enveloping us. It was a pleasure, but I got a wallop when I got back. My AOC was livid. How he asked could I break a rule and go away with an NCO?  I said sorry, but he told me he would report me. Did he? No, the old foggy never filed a report and later in India asked me, how was everything?