Tag Archives: air defense

34 Years Ago The Nighthawk Stealth Fighter Was Revealed

Almost three and a half decades ago, a mysterious and strikingly beautiful aircraft touched down on a dusty airfield in the Nevada desert.


The F-117 Nighthawk


Since its public reveal decades ago (consider that development started in the 1970’s on this amazing machine), the Nighthawk served with quiet distinction through the latter half of the Cold War, the first Gulf War, a kerfuffle in Yugoslavia, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Despite and official ‘retirement’ in 2008, the F-117 still gets spotted in the skies over Nevada where it is rumored to serve as an ‘agressor aircraft’, helping to train pilots.


What’s the F-117 about?


With it’s cyberpunk like profile and stunning angles, the F-117 Nighthawk instantly captured the public’s imagination and birthed a lot of UFO /UAP stories, especially in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when it’s unusual shape confused expectations of what an aircraft could and should look like.
A radical departure from the retro-aerodynamic curves of traditional aircraft design, the F-117’s odd shape serves a singular purpose.


Stealth.


The Nighthawk was conceived by Lockheed’s Skunk Works, a secretive development team responsible for some of the most capable aircraft of the 20th century.
Designed to slip through deep Soviet territory, the Nighthawk incorporated radical new technology to achieve an incredibly small radar and thermal signature. Hard edges, radar-absorbing coatings, a unique twin-tail, and special endinge cowlings reduced the aircraft to the size of a sparrow on Soviet radar.
The Nighthawk was deemed fully operational in the early 1980’s and nearly a decade her pilots and crew flight night sorties in complete secrecy.
Seven years later, the USAF and the Department of Defense decided the Nighthawk would work better as a deterrent if the world knew about it and it’s capabilities.


Plans were made to reveal the aircraft to the world at Nellis AFB on April 21, 1990. Those of us who saw this event live on television will always remember the shock and awe inspiring gasp it created- nothing like it had ever been seen before and it surely looked like something from a science fiction novel or movie.
On a hot spring day, a flight of two F-117s landed in front of thousands of cheering spectators, kicking off one of the most memorable air shows in US history. After opening the show, the F-117s sat quietly on the tarmac surrounded by an entourage of armed airmen and curious onlookers.
Although little was said about the new “stealth fighters”- blimps, fighter jets, and mock dog fights continued the day’s entertainment in style.


Even with talks of ‘spending prioritization’ and ‘doctrinal appropriateness’, the Nighthawk has endured, in it’s own special way, for nearly 40 years. Everything about the F-117 that made it great in the 1980’s still captivates us today. It’s razor-sharp edges, futuristic technology, and it’s family tree of stealthy cousins (foreign and domestic). Here is hoping many more years of this little black triangle up in the sky… via our friends at kommandostore.com

NORAD detects, tracks, and identifies Russian aircraft entering Canada Air Defense Identification Zones

Many people are surprised to learn that for seventy-five years and counting, Russian aircraft regularly enter Canada territory. For example, on September 11, 2022, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected, tracked and positively identified two Russian maritime patrol aircraft entering and operating within the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ).

photo: DND

NORAD and USNORTHCOM are Canadian and the American bi-national military commands charged with three missions in the defense of North America: aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning.

The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American nor Canadian sovereign airspace.

Contrary to how you may feel about it, Russian activity in the North American ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) is not seen as a threat nor is the activity seen as provocative. NORAD tracks and positively identifies foreign military aircraft that enter the ADIZ, and routinely monitors foreign aircraft movements and as required, escorts them from the ADIZ.

THULE AIR BASE, Greenland —Thule’s ballistic missile early warning radar  

The radar is operated by the 12th Space Warning Squadron, a geographically-separated unit of the 21st Space Wing. This upgrade completes another step toward a fully-operational missile defense system for the United States and Canada and friends and allies. 

NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based radars, airborne radar and fighter aircraft to track and identify aircraft and inform appropriate actions. We remain ready to employ a number of response options in the defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty.

Canada’s North Warning System Radar Sites. image:cbc

Aside from Thule Air Base, Greenland, and other Alaskan air bases, defensive operations are also based out of Canadian Forces Station Alert, Nunavut; Whitehorse, Yukon; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; 17 Wing/Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, Manitoba; 22 Wing North Bay, Ontario and 5 Wing Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The expanded Canadian Air Defence Identification Zone (CADIZ).

Another operation saw Canadian CF-18 fighters operating from northern airfields to intercept aircraft role-playing as threats. Fighter aircraft were supported by Royal Canadian Air Force and United States Air Force KC-135 air-to-air refuelers.

The monitoring and control of North American airspace remains a primary mission focus area for NORAD. The command maintains robust air defense capabilities to execute the airspace mission over the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada.

General Glen VanHerck

“Exercising in the Arctic allows us to demonstrate our resiliency and advance our operational capabilities that are critical for integrated deterrence and layered defense,” said General Glen VanHerck, NORAD/USNORTHCOM commander. “The men and women of NORAD, in Canada and the United States, remain steadfast in our sacred obligation of deterring threats, and if required, defending North America.”

For the Silo, Captain Alexandra Hejduk/ NORAD.

NORAD Intercepts Russian Bombers Near Alaska-Canada Airspace

NORAD conducts routine intercept of Russian aircraft entering Air Defense Identification Zone

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – The Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected, tracked, positively identified and intercepted two Russian aircraft entering and operating within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on April 17, 2023.

Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative.

The Russian aircraft were TU-95 bombers.

Development began in 1949 and was continually refined up to present day making The Tu-95 BEAR perhaps the most successful bomber produced by the Soviet aviation, enjoying such a long service in a variety of roles and configurations.

NORAD aircraft, including F-16 fighters, F-22 fighters, KC-135 Stratotankers, and E-3 AWACS, conducted the mission.

Almost two decades old- The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force.

NORAD tracks and positively identifies all military aircraft that enter the ADIZ. NORAD routinely monitors aircraft movements and as necessary, escorts them from the ADIZ.

Since Russia resumed out of area Long Range Aviation activity in 2007, NORAD has seen a yearly average of approximately six to seven intercepts of Russian military aircraft in the ADIZ. These numbers have varied each year from as high as 15 to as low as zero.

NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based radars, airborne radar and fighter aircraft to track and identify aircraft and inform appropriate actions. We remain ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty. For the Silo, Capt Alexandra Hejduk.