After Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War, the U.S. Navy sought stealth carrier-based aircraft, one option being to use the off-the-shelf F-117A, hoping to build on it and make small improvements to the carrier-based version. In fact, as early as 1984, the U.S. Navy tested the F-117A, although the aircraft can not be used directly as a carrier-based aircraft, but has the following advantages suitable for ship-based modifications: 1. In the fuselage midline, the part from the nose gear to the tail hook has a full-depth center keel; 2. The wing passes through 3 frames covering the fuselage; 3. The front landing gear is fixed to connect the main bulkhead. These designs are conducive to increasing the structural strength of the fuselage, and the change to a carrier-based aircraft requires less structural reinforcement.
At first, it only added an automatic landing system (ACLS) and some limited anti-corrosion measures to the F-117A, named the F-117N, an aircraft whose basic performance was similar to that of the F-117A, could only operate at night, and possibly even lowered the indicators due to ship-borne adaptation improvements, which was not accepted by the Navy.
Performance of the early F-117N:
Occupants: 1 person
Length: 20.09 m
Wingspan: 19.6 meters
Height: 3.9 meters
Wing area: 72.46 m2
Empty weight: 13.38 tons
Loading weight: 33.2 tons
Power: 2 General Electric F404-F1D2s, each with a thrust of 48 kN
Top speed: 1 harmonic speed
Cruising speed: M0.92
Range: 1720 km
Ceiling: 13,716 metres
Built-in magazines: 4 compartments
Weapons: AIM-120, AIM-9, Gem Road Laser Guided Bomb (10, 12, 27), B61 Nuclear Bomb, BLU-109 Ground Bomb, JointLy Guided Attack Weapon JDAM
B-61 nuclear bomb
BLU-109 ground-penetrating bomb
Lockheed continued to improve the F-117N with a design prototype of the F-111A's improved F-117B (Scheme 2), which reduced the swept back angle, increased wingspan, improved vertical tail, added trapezoidal flat tail, and enlarged built-in magazines based on the F-117A; featured all-weather sensors for improved stealth detail. The Navy plans to first use the Air Force's F-117A to modify a demonstrator to test its suitability as a carrier-based aircraft, simulating landing and low-speed performance. The new design, named the F-117X, has a maximum takeoff weight of 29.8 tons, folds the main wing, adds a landing hook, and to save development time, uses the F-14's rear landing gear and F/A-18's front landing gear.
F-117B's performance:
Maximum takeoff weight: 33.2 tons (23.8 tons for F-117A)
Combat radius: 1577.16 km (F-117A is 917.33 km)
Internal payload: 4.5 tons (2.3 tons for F-117A)
Weapons: AIM-120, AIM-9, Gem Road Laser-Guided Bomb
Engines: 2 X F-414
In 1993, the A/FX program, which succeeded NATF, was discontinued, and the A/FX was replaced by the Joint Advanced Strike Technology Aircraft JET (the predecessor of JSF). At this point, the F-117X was an alternative to JAST, with improvements made to the new requirements. In mid-1994, Lockheed introduced the A/F-117X.
Viewed from the front, the A/F-117X has a pronounced trapezoidal bulge in the abdomen
In contrast, the F-117A has a flat abdomen
Replace the fuel port on the back of the F-117A with a right oil probe
The A/F-117X is equipped with a low probability of interception (LPI) polymorphic radar that scans air-to-ground with fairly high resolution to ground. Equipped with forward-looking infrared equipment (FLIR) and infrared search and tracking system (IRST), with search and trace capabilities. The weapon and internal payload are the same as the F-117B, and the 4 underwing pylons can carry 3.6 tons of ammunition.
Structurally, although the structure of the F-117A is more suitable for boarding, the A/F-117X still needs to strengthen the fuselage and landing gear. The horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft is similar to the F-22, with the main wing swept angle reduced to 42 degrees and the wingspan increasing by 6.53 meters. Double slotted trailing edge flaps are used and three spoilers are fitted in front. The aircraft also used the F-14's automatic landing system. For the desired visibility, the F-117A's diamond-shaped canopy was replaced with a frameless canopy.
Note its frameless canopy, which resembles the F-22
In terms of power, two F-414s are used, which is larger in diameter than F404-F1D2, so the intake tract has also been modified to increase the intake volume. Thanks to the new engine, the top speed should exceed the speed of sound. After the magazine enlarged, the keel dropped by 19 inches, forming a slender bulge in the abdomen, which increased some resistance but did not have a significant impact on pneumatics and stealth.
As an alternative to THE NEST, the A/F-117X has an all-weather air/ground strike capability and is a multi-role fighter that basically meets the requirements of the A/FX. The mode of operation is to first attack the enemy's key targets in stealth mode, and then use the plug-in mode to deal with the enemy after the collapse of the air defense system.
The A/FX was formerly the A/X, which was a stealth attack aircraft that replaced the A-12. The A/FX is actually a multi-role fighter that undertakes both NATF and A-12 tasks, so it needs to ensure attack capability. Later MASTERS and JSF also require multi-purpose capabilities.
Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics jointly designed the A/FX scheme, using two units with a maximum thrust of 113 kN. The PW7000 engine, compared to NATF, has a drop in total thrust by one notch
The A/F-117X was designed to strengthen the strike capabilities of the original F/A-18E/F fleet and become a decisive force in the offensive. Lockheed wants the Navy to buy between 40 and 75 A/F-117Xs.
On anti-aircraft weapons, the A/F-117X, like the F-117B, can launch AIM-9 or AIM-120 from the main magazine by mounting missiles on a slide rail inside the hatch, a capability evidenced by Lockheed documentation.
The F-35 also has plans for a built-in magazine to mount the advanced short-range air-to-air missile AIM-132, but it has not yet been implemented
To achieve modular manufacturing and cost savings, Lockheed wanted the Air Force and Navy to agree to joint production of the F-117B and A/F-117X. In 1994, it was estimated that if 255 A/F-117Xs were produced, the flyoff price would reach $70 million, and it was expected to cost $3.1 billion by the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase. The Senate Armed Services Committee allocated $175 million to launch the demonstrator's project definition and flight demonstration. But in the end, the A/F-117X, like the predecessors of A/FX and NATF, did not build a real machine. THE NEST eventually evolved into today's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Performance of the A/F-117X:
Maximum takeoff weight: 33.2 tons
Combat radius: 1577.16 km
Internal payload: 4.5 tons
Wingspan: 19.75 m (13.2 m for F-117A)
Off-topic: The Tightly Covered F-117 in the United States actually has plans to export, Lockheed provided the Royal Air Force with an F-117C variant, based on the F-117A, with improved canopy to increase visibility, increased thrust in the engine, modified intake tracts, and upgraded avionics equipment. In 1986, the Uk kingdom evaluated a variant of the F-117 and did not place an order.
Regarding the STEALTH CARRIER AIRCRAFT of the United States, from the early NATF to today's JSF, the Navy's constant requirements are low speed performance, load capacity, and range, and in order to ensure these indicators, maximum speed and maneuverability are constantly compromised. In the case of the A/F-117X, its maximum take-off weight has reached the level of the F-14, the four compartments inside can carry 4.5 tons of ammunition, the internal fuel combat radius is doubled than the F-117A, and the total thrust is only the level of F/A-18E/F.
The NATF-22 was actually a variant of Lockheed's variable swept wing based on the F-22 in order to take into account the ship's low-speed performance, rather than a stealthy version of the F-14. It was canceled due to overweight or other reasons.
The image comes from the web and is also posted elsewhere