When stealth air attack blasted onto the scene roughly 30-years ago, few may have envisioned the kind of “broadband” stealth that is operational today. The F-117 Night Hawk blazed an amazing trail on a previously non existent path, opening the door to a paradigm-changing kind of air attack.

With a brief study of how electronic pings and “radar return” renderings work, one can quickly discern that the F-117 seems to have too many sharp edges, protruding structures and contours likely to generate a return signal to enemy radar. So while the F-117 may not be as stealthy as today’s B-2 and B-21, aircraft designed to elude surveillance and engagement radar and attack without an enemy even knowing they are there, the F-117 is still quite stealthy and a breakthrough accomplishment. The Night Hawk pioneered the concept of an air-campaign attack wherein secret stealthy aircraft penetrate enemy airspace, destroy enemy radar and air defenses, and open up an “air corridor” for a massive follow-on attack.

The secretive and mysterious stealthy F-117 Nighthawk exploded onto the scene during the Gulf War in 1991, introducing the world to a previously unparalleled level of innovation and elusive, secret, yet penetrating air attack.