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F-117 Unique Loadouts


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Hello all,

I'm starting a F-117 build in 1:48 and wondering about loadouts. There isn't a lot of info out there, which I guess makes sense. It's my hope to load it up with something other than the GBU-27 that it's most famous for using. I know it was cleared for the GBU-31, but I believe that happened right at the end of it's service life, and I can't find anything indicating they dropped any in combat. There are rumors that the F-117 was used over Syria, but I can't find much definitive, and certainly nothing about what they were dropping.

Alternatively, I think the idea of modeling the graphite bombs used in Allied Force would be neat, but again, there is very little about what they looked like. I assume they would look similar to a standard CBU, but is that correct? The only detail I found was that it (allegedly) used the same dispenser as the CBU-97. How many would have been carried? 
 

I do not know how likely it is that this information is available, but if there is something to be learned, it will be here with you folks.

Thanks very much!

 

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If you want to go oddball, heard a podcast interview with an ex-117 pilot who said that the aircraft had a limited A2A capability.  Assume this would have been used on Russian AWACS?   No info provided on weapons but since the aircraft didn’t have a radar, I’d guess we are talking AIM-9’s?  

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Im with you on this one the F-117A has been done to death over the years and they are always loaded up with the GBU-27 bombs.
I think the Italeri 1/48 kit comes with some dubious accuracy B-61 bombs and the Academy 1/72 kit comes with an AIM-9 option along with the GBU-27s.

 

I think the "problem" with it is the bay was so small it limits what you can do with it. 

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Thank you everyone for the replies!

I agree that the AIM-9s would make for a pretty unique look, but when I looked up more information about that, I found conflicting reports about the idea that they could be used to kill AWACS. The most convincing argument I found was this:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34169/no-the-f-117-never-had-air-to-air-capability-but-one-did-get-a-radar

The jist is that there would be no way for a F-117 to close to within 5 miles of an AWACS with no radar, visually acquire it, and then somehow do anything other than launch the AIM-9 in its general direction. The idea was something spoken of early on in the program, but never considered at all as viable. So, I think adding AIM-9's would be more of a "What If" rather than a unique realistic loadout.

So I guess I'm sticking with air to ground. Without any visual reference to the black-out bomb, I'm hesitant to throw a couple CBU-97s into the bay, as neat as it may be. If I can't find more information, and assuming they fit, I may go with a couple GBU-31's. I can find a couple pictures of them being dropped, though they look like training rounds only.

Edited by Specter1075
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Well, the F-117 are still flying.

Two were seen landing as recently as last February...

So I'd assume that any modern drop weaponry with independent guidance that fits in its weapons bay could be a go.

AWACS put out an incredible amount of electromagnetic emissions over a vast spectrum, and with the recently added Eagle Eye IRST pods in a stealthy configuration it would be entirely possible to find an AWACS.

 

Edited by hemspilot
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3 hours ago, hemspilot said:

Well, the F-117 are still flying.

Two were seen landing as recently as last February...

So I'd assume that any modern drop weaponry with independent guidance that fits in its weapons bay could be a go.

AWACS put out an incredible amount of electromagnetic emissions over a vast spectrum, and with the recently added Eagle Eye IRST pods in a stealthy configuration it would be entirely possible to find an AWACS.

 

True but, I don't think they are being utilized as air to ground test beds. I think they are being used for their LO or newer LO technology, as adversary's against the F-35's.

Steve

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20 hours ago, Specter1075 said:

Thank you everyone for the replies!

I agree that the AIM-9s would make for a pretty unique look, but when I looked up more information about that, I found conflicting reports about the idea that they could be used to kill AWACS. The most convincing argument I found was this:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34169/no-the-f-117-never-had-air-to-air-capability-but-one-did-get-a-radar

The jist is that there would be no way for a F-117 to close to within 5 miles of an AWACS with no radar, visually acquire it, and then somehow do anything other than launch the AIM-9 in its general direction. The idea was something spoken of early on in the program, but never considered at all as viable. So, I think adding AIM-9's would be more of a "What If" rather than a unique realistic loadout.

So I guess I'm sticking with air to ground. Without any visual reference to the black-out bomb, I'm hesitant to throw a couple CBU-97s into the bay, as neat as it may be. If I can't find more information, and assuming they fit, I may go with a couple GBU-31's. I can find a couple pictures of them being dropped, though they look like training rounds only.

Another plane could target the AWACS and bring a 117 in for the kill.

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Ooooh.  Thought experiment -

"If an AWACS platform operates on a known/ predicatable frequency/bandwidth, why couldn't you tune a anti-radiation missile to home in on those transmissions?  If so, why couldn't a F-117 employ such a weapon?"

It all sounds like the stuff Tom Clancy wrote about.

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2 hours ago, Murph said:

In Desert Storm they dropped some inert GBU-12s on Iraqi equipment that the Iraqis had purposely placed close to cultural monuments.

 

Regards,

Murph

Interesting, what did they drop in Panama during JUST CAUSE?

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12 hours ago, Da SWO said:

Interesting, what did they drop in Panama during JUST CAUSE?

 

According to WAPJ two F-117s dropped two GBU-27A/B bombs with BLU-109B/I-2000 warheads (aka HAVE VOID).  There were six F-117s on the mission, the other four returned without dropping ordnance.

 

edit: actually eight on the mission, two were hot spares which turned back after the first AAR. The remaining six were over target with only two releasing ordnance.

.

 

Edited by habu2
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Yeah it sounds a lot like what I did when I retired.

Still work, but I am officially retired from work.

 

I would love to know whats going on there.

Ill bet that will be a story and a half nobody will believe when its no longer a state secret. 

Edited by ElectroSoldier
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46 minutes ago, ElectroSoldier said:

Yeah it sounds a lot like what I did when I retired.

Still work, but I am officially retired from work.

 

I would love to know whats going on there.

Ill bet that will be a story and a half nobody will believe when its no longer a state secret. 

 

Speculation is that they are being used as low-observable aggressors to train pilots against 5th generation targets.

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On 10/30/2020 at 11:37 AM, hemspilot said:

Well, the F-117 are still flying.

Two were seen landing as recently as last February...

So I'd assume that any modern drop weaponry with independent guidance that fits in its weapons bay could be a go.

AWACS put out an incredible amount of electromagnetic emissions over a vast spectrum, and with the recently added Eagle Eye IRST pods in a stealthy configuration it would be entirely possible to find an AWACS.

 

 

Not necessarily.

They would still have to test drop the weapon, for instance a JDAM as it might not react well to the airflow around the aircraft when the doors are open... Stranger things have happened.

 

Then you need to make a new delivery profile and put it into the protected memory of the guidance computer.

 

Its a lot of guys working for a lot of hours to make it drop a JDAM even though its almost certain that it can, you have to make sure and program the computer.

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On 10/29/2020 at 3:10 PM, Specter1075 said:

Thank you everyone for the replies!

I agree that the AIM-9s would make for a pretty unique look, but when I looked up more information about that, I found conflicting reports about the idea that they could be used to kill AWACS. The most convincing argument I found was this:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34169/no-the-f-117-never-had-air-to-air-capability-but-one-did-get-a-radar

The jist is that there would be no way for a F-117 to close to within 5 miles of an AWACS with no radar, visually acquire it, and then somehow do anything other than launch the AIM-9 in its general direction. The idea was something spoken of early on in the program, but never considered at all as viable. So, I think adding AIM-9's would be more of a "What If" rather than a unique realistic loadout.

So I guess I'm sticking with air to ground. Without any visual reference to the black-out bomb, I'm hesitant to throw a couple CBU-97s into the bay, as neat as it may be. If I can't find more information, and assuming they fit, I may go with a couple GBU-31's. I can find a couple pictures of them being dropped, though they look like training rounds only.


An interesting article, and a lot seems true.  It’s doubtful that a F-117 could get within Sidewinder range of an AWACS without being detected.  They aren’t invisible and the radar is quite powerful when you’re that close.  Then there is the real issue of becoming very visible when the weapons bay doors are opened.  But on the other side of the equation, it would probably not be an issue to find the AWACS.  Data link from another platform could do it, but onboard RWR gear could too.  That big radar on the AWACS is a giant beacon when it’s in use.

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4 hours ago, ElectroSoldier said:

, you have to make sure and program the computer

Why can't they just spend a few minutes with a slide rule then take a razor blade and scratch lines on the canopy transparency like guys on the carrier Dad was on did in the late 1950s/early 1960s with some ADs and, maybe, A4s?

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4 hours ago, southwestforests said:

Why can't they just spend a few minutes with a slide rule then take a razor blade and scratch lines on the canopy transparency like guys on the carrier Dad was on did in the late 1950s/early 1960s with some ADs and, maybe, A4s?

Did he slide the canopy back and smoke a stogy after he was feet wet too? 🙂 

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