NEW NIGHTHAWKS FOR BRITAIN?

摘要

Britain may have turned the F-117 down once, but in 1995 it was offered the type - by now officially named the Nighthawk - again. When the MoD issued Staff Target (Air) 425, for a Future Offensive Aircraft to replace the Tornado GR1 and the later upgraded GR4, Lockheed Martin put forward an F-117 derivative.It was part of the manufacturer's efforts to restart Nighthawk production, which had ended with the 59th F-117A for the USAF in July 1990. A carrier-borne version, the F-117N, was turned down by the US Navy, so Lockheed came up with what it called the F-117X or A/F-117X. This was to be a technology demonstrator for a carrier variant, with a new wing and tail, afterburning General Electric F414 engines in place of the A-model's non-afterburning F404s, and a significantly bigger weapons load -including an air-to-air capability - among other improvements. The manufacturer referred to it as a "high-end strike fighter", which it hoped would appeal to the navy. At the same time, it pitched to the USAF a similar redesign, known as the F-117B. The RAF offer was made on the basis of these projected developments. Winning orders from three services would, obviously, push down unit costs.