The F-117 Stealth Nighthawk was a truly groundbreaking aircraft when introduced in the early 1980s. The strange shape of the jet, all flat panels and angles, rendered the aircraft nearly invisible to radar. This highly classified program wasn't acknowledged publicly by the U.S. Air Force until 1988. The Nighthawk was retired in 2008 after twenty-five years of service, including bombing missions over Panama, Iraq during both Gulf Wars, andYugoslavia during the Kosovo war.
Brad O'Connor flew the Nighthawk during the NATO bombing campaign over Kosovo in 1999. His first-person experience puts the reader in the cockpit of this revolutionary combat aircraft. From his F-117 assignment through training, deployment, mission planning, and combat flights, O'Connor relates the day-to-day life of a pilot in the world's first stealth fighter.
Autorentext
Brad OÆConnor (north Texas) had a twenty-six-year career as an aviator in the U.S. Air Force and completed tours of duty flying eight different types of jets, including the F-16. He flew seventy-nine combat sorties over Iraq during the "no fly-zone" years before being selected to join the elite cadre of F-117 Stealth Fighter pilots at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. His final active-duty assignment was to Sheppard AFB, Texas, where he was an instructor pilot and the U.S. Senior National Representative to the NATO fighter pilot training program for almost five years. Brad amassed 6,077 jet flight hours as a fighter, test, and instructor pilot before retiring. He currently lives in north Texas where he is a contract instructor pilot and flies World War II warbirds for heritage organizations on weekends.