F-117s Over Baghdad – Stealth fighters adapt new tactics in Desert Storm

The F-117A is unique in the way the shape changes depending on the angle you look at it. That is a product of all of the various angles and facets by design, which also help diffuse radar signals in addition to the array of the other stealthy internal features. (Photo by Ted Carlson/fotodynamics.com)

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On January 16, 1991 Nighthawks unleashed their stealth capabilities and Guided Bomb Units (GBUs) on Baghdad and some of the most heavily defended airfields in Iraq. During the “43 Day War,” F-117As of the 415th and 416th Tactical Fighter Squadrons flew nearly 1,300 sorties under the command of Col. Alton Whitley. Col. Whitley flew a lot of the missions and recalls, “These airfields were jammed tight with aircraft, mostly fighter types. Part of the mindset...

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