Fri, Dec 12, 2003
A Nighthawk in Raptor's Clothing
It took 10 gallons of dark gray paint, 5 1/2 gallons of light
gray paint and 3 gallons of silicon paint to give one F-117A
Nighthawk an F/A-22 Raptor-style makeover.
Lt. Col. Kevin Sullivan, the 53rd Test and Evaluation
Group’s Detachment 1 commander, asked the 49th Aircraft
Maintenance Squadron corrosion flight airmen to paint the
detachment’s F-117 gray to evaluate whether it could have a
substantial role in daytime combat operations.
"The chief of staff wants to have a 24-hour stealth presence
over future battlefields," said Lt. Col. Buck Rogers, Det. 1
operations officer. "We know our current black paint scheme
wouldn't be a good color for daytime operations."
With the project complete, the jet will participate in upcoming
tests as part of a program called Global Strike Task Force, Rogers
said. The jet will fly with the F/A-22 in several tests both
locally and deployed.
"We use the (F-117) for everything from new tactics development
to the evaluation of new software or hardware," said Maj. Tre Urso,
a Det. 1 pilot. "Det. 1 has been involved in all the F-117
modifications and upgrades over the years. Now we want to evaluate
the feasibility of using the F-117 during daylight operations."
Air Force leaders will approve additional jets for the gray
scheme only if the test results show the change is warranted,
Rogers said. Whether or not the rest of the jets are painted, this
project is worth the time and effort spent on completing it, Urso
said.
"It provides a great opportunity for us to learn about our
daytime capabilities and limitations,” he said. “It
also helps us evaluate how the new paints will hold up over time
and lets us measure the impact the color modification has on the
maintenance troops who maintain the jet. Bottom line, we need to
make sure we provide our leaders an accurate assessment of the
costs and benefits involved with daytime ops and the gray paint
scheme." [ANN Thanks Laura Pellegrino, 49th Fighter Wing Pubic
Affairs]
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