Message posted by Peter Merlin (Member since 11/13/2003) on January 19, 2023 at 11:20:13 PST:
Based on reports in the aviation press and mainstream media, the public knew in the early 1980s that there was a "stealth fighter" in development but the Department of Defense (DoD) refused to acknowledge the existence of such a program. When of of these mysterious planes crashed near Bakersfield, California, in July 1986, news stories accurately reported that it was one of 50 or more stealth planes that had been built by Lockheed and based at Tonopah Test Range. Previous stories had mentioned that the airplane had been tested at Groom Lake but erroneously called it the "F-19" (which was just guesswork based on the fact that the designations F-18 and F-20 had been used, leaving a seemingly mysterious gap between them). The secret program received more unwanted publicity when another stealth plane crashed on the Nevada Test and training Range in October 1987. Finally, a DoD spokesman made a public announcement revealing the F-117A in November 1988.
In Reply to: F-117 posted by Altner on January 19, 2023 at 3:56:56 PST:
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