Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
NPR
April 26, 2008 By Andrea Seabrook
All Things Considered (NPR), 7:00 PM
ANDREA SEABROOK: Now, to some news that might have passed under your radar. The Nighthawk just flew its final mission. It's an American jet, officially called the F-117A. It was the first stealth fighter built with technology that makes it invisible to radar detection. The Nighthawk has always been, and still is, super classified.
The government didn't even acknowledge the jet existed until a decade after it was flying. Its last mission this week: fly to a secure hangar in Nevada for safekeeping in secret.
The man who flew the lead plane in that mission is Colonel John Forsythe, call sign Ripper. Hi, there.
Colonel JOHN FORSYTHE (U.S. Air Force): Hi, Andrea. How are you doing?
SEABROOK: Good. Now, you're in your office there at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
FORSYTHE: That's correct.
SEABROOK: Do you have a model of the Nighthawk there on your desk?
FORSYTHE: I sure do. How did you know that?
SEABROOK: I just - something in me. Just a guess.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SEABROOK: So, what does this plane look like?
FORSYTHE: Well, you know, it's got a very distinctive arrowhead shape. That's kind of a top and bottom view. In a side view, it's very flat. It's very pointy in the front and very flat in the back.
SEABROOK: It's the plane that I always call the Batman symbol.
FORSYTHE: It does look like the Batman symbol.
SEABROOK: Am I correct in thinking the wings are flat because that scatters radar?
FORSYTHE: Well, you know, the wings are flat just like any other type of aircraft. What's really unique about the aircraft is the fuselage itself. It's very angular, very faceted, and that is to reflect radar energy off in different directions.
SEABROOK: This plane, the Nighthawk, has had a big role in many U.S. conflicts over the past 30 years - Both the Iraq wars, Serbia, the Panama Invasion, just to name a few. How is it used in combat?
FORSYTHE: Well, it's specifically designed for what we called strategic attack or air interdiction. And that allows us to get into targets that other aluminum aircrafts, as we call them, have much more difficulty. Because those aircraft have a high reflectivity, the surface-to-air missile operators can see them much more easily than they can see us. So it allows us to go right down to downtown Baghdad, downtown Belgrade - any target set within a country, we can get to.
SEABROOK: So, why is the military retiring the Nighthawk?
FORSYTHE: It really comes down to capability. And the technology is such today that, you know, we've got the benefit of 20 years of advancements of avionics. And the F-22...
SEABROOK: The F-22 is replacing the Nighthawk.
FORSYTHE: It is more or less. And it has afterburner thrust vectoring, it can carry missiles, it can carry a gun to shoot back, it knows when it's being shot at, and it's got defensive systems. And so, you know, and you have about the same, roughly the same signature as the F-117.
SEABROOK: Do you think there's anything you'll miss, though, about the Nighthawk?
FORSYTHE: Well, certainly. You know, I mean, it is, I think, one thing about the Nighthawk, particularly because of its physical appearance, it's really etched in the national psyche.
SEABROOK: Yeah, it's so cool.
FORSYTHE: It is. And it is still a big draw at air shows. You could park it next to the F-22 and people would come and watch your jet, you know, because it has that Darth Vader appearance. And I think that, combined with the very small family of pilots that flew this, really make it a unique environment here at home. And there's been more astronauts than there have been guys that have flown the - guys and gals - that have flown the F-117.
SEABROOK: Air Force Colonel John Forsythe is commander of the 49th Operation Group. He flew the final mission of the Nighthawk stealth fighter jet last week. Thanks so much for speaking with us.
FORSYTHE: Thank you, Andrea.
April 26, 2008 By Andrea Seabrook
All Things Considered (NPR), 7:00 PM
ANDREA SEABROOK: Now, to some news that might have passed under your radar. The Nighthawk just flew its final mission. It's an American jet, officially called the F-117A. It was the first stealth fighter built with technology that makes it invisible to radar detection. The Nighthawk has always been, and still is, super classified.
The government didn't even acknowledge the jet existed until a decade after it was flying. Its last mission this week: fly to a secure hangar in Nevada for safekeeping in secret.
The man who flew the lead plane in that mission is Colonel John Forsythe, call sign Ripper. Hi, there.
Colonel JOHN FORSYTHE (U.S. Air Force): Hi, Andrea. How are you doing?
SEABROOK: Good. Now, you're in your office there at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
FORSYTHE: That's correct.
SEABROOK: Do you have a model of the Nighthawk there on your desk?
FORSYTHE: I sure do. How did you know that?
SEABROOK: I just - something in me. Just a guess.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SEABROOK: So, what does this plane look like?
FORSYTHE: Well, you know, it's got a very distinctive arrowhead shape. That's kind of a top and bottom view. In a side view, it's very flat. It's very pointy in the front and very flat in the back.
SEABROOK: It's the plane that I always call the Batman symbol.
FORSYTHE: It does look like the Batman symbol.
SEABROOK: Am I correct in thinking the wings are flat because that scatters radar?
FORSYTHE: Well, you know, the wings are flat just like any other type of aircraft. What's really unique about the aircraft is the fuselage itself. It's very angular, very faceted, and that is to reflect radar energy off in different directions.
SEABROOK: This plane, the Nighthawk, has had a big role in many U.S. conflicts over the past 30 years - Both the Iraq wars, Serbia, the Panama Invasion, just to name a few. How is it used in combat?
FORSYTHE: Well, it's specifically designed for what we called strategic attack or air interdiction. And that allows us to get into targets that other aluminum aircrafts, as we call them, have much more difficulty. Because those aircraft have a high reflectivity, the surface-to-air missile operators can see them much more easily than they can see us. So it allows us to go right down to downtown Baghdad, downtown Belgrade - any target set within a country, we can get to.
SEABROOK: So, why is the military retiring the Nighthawk?
FORSYTHE: It really comes down to capability. And the technology is such today that, you know, we've got the benefit of 20 years of advancements of avionics. And the F-22...
SEABROOK: The F-22 is replacing the Nighthawk.
FORSYTHE: It is more or less. And it has afterburner thrust vectoring, it can carry missiles, it can carry a gun to shoot back, it knows when it's being shot at, and it's got defensive systems. And so, you know, and you have about the same, roughly the same signature as the F-117.
SEABROOK: Do you think there's anything you'll miss, though, about the Nighthawk?
FORSYTHE: Well, certainly. You know, I mean, it is, I think, one thing about the Nighthawk, particularly because of its physical appearance, it's really etched in the national psyche.
SEABROOK: Yeah, it's so cool.
FORSYTHE: It is. And it is still a big draw at air shows. You could park it next to the F-22 and people would come and watch your jet, you know, because it has that Darth Vader appearance. And I think that, combined with the very small family of pilots that flew this, really make it a unique environment here at home. And there's been more astronauts than there have been guys that have flown the - guys and gals - that have flown the F-117.
SEABROOK: Air Force Colonel John Forsythe is commander of the 49th Operation Group. He flew the final mission of the Nighthawk stealth fighter jet last week. Thanks so much for speaking with us.
FORSYTHE: Thank you, Andrea.