F-117 in the UK

Hi, can anyone help me by giving me any information about an F-117a located at RAF Waddington, I have heard about it been there, but need some hard evidence, can anyone help???

[edit on 22-11-2004 by VoyagerNX23]

It seems Waddington RAF had an airshow which featured the F-117a stealth fighter, so my guess is yes its probably there..

Yeah, but in the last hour, I have been informed by one of the people that told me it was there, that it has been there years on some sort of "exchange" as we have recently sent over a typhoon prototype apparently, and the source that informed my freind works at Waddington...

The uk and the us share tech, Lockheed try to sell the F-117K to the UK, and we have people that a able to fly the F117

Actually a RAF pilot was almost deployed tot he Gulf in DS I. RAf pilots were put into F-117 squadrons to evaluate and test the planes. The U.S. was willing to sell the plane to the Brits, but the cost etc, may have been a bit much for the budget. No doubt, if they wish to pony up for the Raptor, they will be allowed acess to it as well.

This makes a lot of sense for the US to want to impart their now dated F-117 stealth technology to allies like us here in the UK. If you have been a party to any of the infomation coming from the testing of the newer and even more stealthly UCAV projects from Lokheed-Martin, Northrop&Grumman and Boeing, then it would make sense to make money from an obsolete design which will likely be phased out of the navy and USAF within the next 5-10 years in favour of the more advanced UCAVS being developed.

This is all news to me..I thought that the americans shared such technology with no one....What else have they leased to the brits.?..B-2s im eager to know....

Originally posted by radiant_obsidian
This makes a lot of sense for the US to want to impart their now dated F-117 stealth technology to allies like us here in the UK.

Radiant, the UK involvement was while the F-117 was still classified by the goverment. They could have had it when it was still state of the art.

TO the other poster, I don't think the B-2 was ever offered, and I think it would at 2 Billion a copy eat up a huge amount of the RAF budget.

i heard about this, its just a pilot exchange program it happens regularly between the forces. i have spoken to raf pilots who have flown almost all types of us aircraft, including all the teen series and more. i saw no sign of the aircraft at waddington over the summer, it is likely that the aircraft was either the one being flown by the exchange pilot or possibly a display aircraft(theyb may be one and the same).

to think that the uk is thinking of procuring the f117 is laughable, we are currently trying to flog all our excess typhoons to singapore and the like becuase we cant afford all that we ordered.

Originally posted by FredT
Actually a RAF pilot was almost deployed tot he Gulf in DS I. RAf pilots were put into F-117 squadrons to evaluate and test the planes.

RAF Stealth Pilot Awarded USAF Flying Medals

Top test pilot killed in crash

The UK has no requirement for the F-117, it is also too specialised ie operationally limited, to find a place in the RAF line up where versatility is king because of the limited numbers of aircraft we can afford to operate. Apart from which its tech is now too outdated for it to be newly introduced into RAF service.

to think that the uk is thinking of procuring the f117 is laughable, we are currently trying to flog all our excess typhoons to singapore and the like becuase we cant afford all that we ordered.

This is quite wrong. The RAF is committed to acquiring 232 Typhoons but, in order both to spread costs and help the export effort for the type the RAF said it would be willing to allow some aircraft on the production line to be diverted to export customers and for the RAF itself to recieve later production aircraft but with no reduction in the total number obtained .

This was siezed upon by the UK press as an attempt to 'wriggle out' of buying to full total and this mistake has also been repeated on several websites.


[edit on 27-11-2004 by waynos]

One fairly major difference between the UK and US is quite obviously, size.

Another les obvious difference is in the nature of aircraft enthusiasts...

The U.K variety being by and large a good deal more tenacious in their pursuit of hard information than their American compatriots. Note, I said generally, there are of course exceptions.

Put the two together and you arrive at a situation whereby it is next to impossible for an RAF base to operate any type, or even receive more than the very occasional visit without it becoming "common knowledge".

Waddo is hardly isolated, even in UK terms if there was a 117 there it would be noticed, talked about, photographed and it's serial written in a thousand greasy fingerstained notebooks.

If the RAF are evaluating a type in secret, it'll likely be done at one of the locations around the world where geography enables them to keep the anoraks away.

The article below, published by Jane's, is a little snippit into the US/UK stealth collaboration.

The U.S. loves pumping as much money as possible into defense. The U.K. however, not having the funds to do so, could carry out their hard-nosed research into stealth applications and merely forward their research to American counterparts to create practical testbeds. Both sides would be benefit as the U.S. could push forth their technoligical lead in the field, while the U.K. benefits from the protection of the only remaining superpower.

www.janes.com...


UK/US GOVERNMENT 'STEALTH BAN' IS CAUSING MAJOR COMPLICATIONS FOR AVIATION MANUFACTURERS

Since 1994 the UK Government has maintained an arrangement to share aviation stealth technology secrets with the US Government, to the exclusion of other European nations. This secrecy is damaging relations between European and UK manufacturers, who are now trying to produce a next-generation European combat aircraft for 2017 and cannot easily progress without greater openness about stealth technologies.

A new report in this months Jane's International Defence Review, written by multi-award-winning writer Nick Cook, explains in detail the related projects that are being hampered by the 'stealth ban'....

I thought the US had sold a few B-2's to Britain, but I heard of this a while ago, either that or the USAF had based B-2 bombers in a British airforce base, I know here in my hometown we had an aircraft show and there was a B-2 from Britain.

I also saw A-10's from Britain...odd...kinda makes me wonder what US planes they have in their inventory...i'll check...

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
I thought the US had sold a few B-2's to Britain, but I heard of this a while ago, either that or the USAF had based B-2 bombers in a British airforce base, I know here in my hometown we had an aircraft show and there was a B-2 from Britain.

I also saw A-10's from Britain...odd...kinda makes me wonder what US planes they have in their inventory...i'll check...

The UK doesn`t have a need for the B-2 , and can`t really afford to buy 1 let alone many ; and NO they don`t field ANY US aircraft types ; the Tornado is european , the Harrier is British , and the Jaguar is anglo-french.

ok , maybe the Hercules is american then but definately NO A-10`s.

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
.kinda makes me wonder what US planes they have in their inventory...i'll check...

Harrier GR7/7A*
E-3D Sentry AEW1
Tristar
C-17 Globemaster
C-130 Hercules
Chinook
Sea King (?)


*originally Harrier was British but the GR7 is based off the Americanised Av-8.

They must be American then based in England...odd...

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
They must be American then based in England...odd...

Not particularly. At political and military levels, the UK and the US are intimate allies. RAF pilots regularly fly strike missions in F-117's for example, US Navy officers are trained by the Royal Navy at the Submarine Service's Perisher course, etc.. so the idea that a B-2 would fly to an RAF base is not totally out of the question.

Most likely is that it went to either RAF Lakenheath (run by the USAF) or RAF Fairford (again run by the USAF). Remember, Diego Garca is a British island on loan to the US

US forces have maintained a presence in the UK since WW2 and they operate from several RAF stations that they lease on a long term basis. That is why you would get F-15's A-10's B-52's etc based here.

BTW, How exactly was the Harrier 'Americanised'? What is particularly 'American' about it?

I am merely being facetious of course

Originally posted by Cjwinnit

Sea King (?)

no thats a british one along with the merlin and lynx from westland.