Flying The Infamous F-117 Nighthawk In War Thunder!

[@botimegaming]

What was your favorite plane growing up? War Thunder Twitch Drops will be happening this weekend! I will be streaming starting at 1PM CST and through out the day over @ www.twitch.tv/botimegaming drop by and say hello!

[@scottking1945]

gotta be the B-2

[@thatarmyguy1890]

p 47 i think

[@hrexthedoish3419]

Corsair or Lancaster, still are to this day

[@logandavis4719]

The B-17 Flying Fortress, P-47, and F4U.

[@Shadow101st]

F4U Coursair's

[@MrSunshine1079]

Gaijin: Puts the F-117A Nighthawk into the War Thunder. War Thunder: Rarely has night battles.

[@alastairchurch4038]

Another reason why it might have been used in Syria is that there were a lot of Russian aircraft also in the area which would’ve loved to point their radars at something like an F-35 to see what its RCS actually looks like, but with the F-117 being old tech (still capable if doing the job required in that particular theatre) it was less of a security risk.

[@sawyerawr5783]

The theory running around New Mexico (where the F-117s live), is they're being used as OpFor trainers too. It's probable the F-117 has comparable stealth characteristics to the latest Chinese stuff.

[@immaturedemolitions8220]

....the f35 wasnt even produced at that time

[@mp40submachinegun81]

​@@sawyerawr5783thats public knowledge, airforce still lists them as trainers.

[@MrRazgriez666]

I love the f-117, the a-10c (I have both in toy collectable form) and the f-14b which is on display near a veteran's memorial near my place. Although I may not agree with how WT handles these aircraft but I'm still happy to see them 😊

[@botimegaming]

@@sawyerawr5783 The F-117 has a very similiar radar signature to cruise missiles. They like to use them as opfor air and ground testing.

[@donaldvoge5368]

"Get High. Get REALLY High." --Way ahead of you bud!

[@alastairchurch4038]

Well this should work amazingly in Warthunder, what with it usually being daylight, and in all air modes except sim you have a bright red name over your head… that’s not going to affect the stealth at all…

[@Kaiberus]

does it even have anti air missiles, it doesnt have guns so i dont think its even useful in air

[@alphamaccao5224]

@@Kaiberus It's only got the ability to load bombs, up to 2x 2000 lbs (guided or unguided)

[@ScientistMan96]

It's also at a BR in which it's too low to face any of the radars it was designed to combat, making it's stealth design entirely pointless, but is also too high a BR to be able to carry enough bombload to actually take out the bases. It's a stealth bomber that can't stealth or bomb. Classic Gaijin to make another iconic American plane just another useless sitting duck in the skies by forcing them into the worst possible situations they could ever imagine being in. Like an F-117 stealth night bomber put in broad daylight against planes without radar, or the A-10 being forced to fly in VERY heavily occupied airspace without cover, or the B17 flying solo without a formation.

[@FutureFlash2034]

@@ScientistMan96 It's a Stealth Attack Aircraft. Not a Stealth Bomber, as even engineers mention it should have had the A designation for Attacker. It's not meant for killing bases, it's meant for going after ground targets like pillboxes in air rb.

[@jayburn00]

I think there may have been talk of giving it two sidewinders at one point, but I don't think anything came of it.

[@coffeeshangarworkshop8051]

"The F-117 was my favorite plane as a kid" Jebus I'm old, mine was the F-104.

[@nero756]

*crys in f-104 starfighter (born december 1997 btw)

[@Dreazy_YT]

F-104 is my favorite too!

[@USSWisconsin]

You dont need to he old to have liked an old plane, im 16 and my favourites been the phantom for as long as i can remember

[@rcrawford42]

Mine has always been the P-38, but I'm not THAT old!

[@yamatotexas6340]

My favorite is the spitfire mark 1 with the 8 .303 caliber machine guns and I am only 19

[@liladoodle]

Despite being a stealth aircraft, it's anything but here in War Thunder.

[@Iron_Blood_Enjoyer1933]

Gaijin dropping the ball once again.

[@tetsatou2815]

@@Iron_Blood_Enjoyer1933 Yep. Not surprised. Probably buy into the myth that the F-117 stealth doesn't actually work because one got shot down that one time, and then never again.

[@diesirae8954]

It's not invisible though ​@@tetsatou2815

[@not2hot99]

​@@Iron_Blood_Enjoyer1933How come you guys always comment under each other?

[@NarcassiticGamer]

I think the biggest issue is war thunder doesn't exactly encourage you to use these like they're intended, at the short ranges that War Thunder CAS operates at the F-117 would still be a pretty easy target even irl, if matches lasted longer and were on larger maps that encouraged players to be flying at altitudes of 30,000+ feet then it would probably be a pretty capable vehicle even with the limited payload.

[@nicojokelin5547]

Guide on how to fly the F-117 correctly in ground RB This is a stealthplane and it has no defences so fly it like one Climb as high as you can But stay below the altitude where contrails appear. The contrails will make you very easy to detect. And make sure to climb away from the battlefield 16km+ is recommended Then turn towards the battle and use your good optics to scout for enemy SPAA This is for a few reasons 1. If you bomb something when they have active SPAA players they will try shoot you down 2. You have limited ordanance so killing enemy SPAA will actually have the largest impact on the opposing team since they are likely low on spawn points and killing them will effectively remove 1 player from their team for the rest of match. 3. You can do this relatively safely and clear the way for your teams more hard hitting CAS If there are no enemy SPAA in sight bomb the highest priority target (this might lead to a very angry and aware SPAA appearing on opposing team) After a strike run keep going straight fly away from the battlefield again the same 16km distance is recommended before turning around Have a bind set for closing the bomb bay because having it open makes you easier to detect on radar But do remember that people have eyes and they can see you even if they dont see you on radar And if you get detected you should reset strike run and aproach from different direction Getting detected in F117 leaves you very vulnerable. Your biggest threats being IR guided missiles, optical trackers and interceptors Use laser guided weapons because they can hit moving targets If you follow these steps the enemy SPAA will have a very hard time dealing with you and you will get the jump on them 90% of the time Keep in mind that after you strike the enemy will be looking for you The stealth will prevent them from detecting you in their radar when you approach and when you get to ranges where their radars can start to brute force through your stealth you will be above them in their blind spot In other words they will never see you in their radars

[@-tr0n]

Step 4, the match ended 7 minutes ago.

[@nicojokelin5547]

@-tr0n it is what it is

[@patrickpelletier9298]

There’s a story out of the build up for desert storm of the US requesting permission to fly a couple of tankers through a country’s air space (I think it was Greece). Well they sent a couple of planes up to investigate why a couple of tankers were flying through in the dead of night. It was quickly determined that they were being escorted by a couple of nighthawks

[@THECHEESE2023]

It was over austria

[@patrickpelletier9298]

@ thank you, I wasn’t sure.

[@ALL_Design.CO69]

@@THECHEESE2023yeah sick

[@Vinemaple]

But imagine the look on their faces when they saw "GBU-27 Pave Way (F-117)" in their kill feed! Thanks for sticking with this, it was very entertaining for a non-player!

[@botimegaming]

Thanks for watching!

[@Novous]

One of the guys who worked on the f117 precursor (Lockheed Martin's "Skunk Works" division) came to my school and talked about that stuff with the flat panels. Flat panels dump radar waves at the sharp angles, so they designed the angles in a way to mostly reflect all radar way from where a dish would be located. (Behind it, not below it?) He also talked about working on the first "stealth boat" (IX-529 Sea Shadow). It was incredibly cool. The boat was so invisible to radar, they had to add radar noise out the top because you'd be watching down into the ocean from a plane and see a black mark where no emissions at all came back unlike the random fluctuations from the water. It was raised off the ground and had two counter-rotating propellers that cancelled any wake (kind of like The Hunt for Red October).

[@ALL_Design.CO69]

Cool

[@Sp00kq]

So the boat was so stealthy that they had to make it so that it actually released some radar to make it more stealthy

[@Khotetsu]

Yeah, the sharp angles are about directing radar waves away from the the receiver at extreme angles, not the quality of computer tech at the time. I assume from the way that the angles flow that the goal was to bounce the waves upwards on the top and past the F-117 continuing away from the radar with the flat bottom. Even the B-2 and F-35 have similar sharp angles to them for the same reason. You can think of it like with the rounded edges and plates of tanks. The radar wave is like an incoming round, and curved edges always have a place where the curve is completely perpendicular to the incoming wave/round. With a shell, this nullifies the benefit of angled armor if it manages to hit that spot, while with radar it increases the amount of radar waves that bounce directly back to the receiver and increases the size of the radar signature.

[@kevinjohanson5718]

Agreed. Growing up, the F-117 was a little boy’s dream plane. Seeing it at a young age, we knew there was no way it could be touched… then we grew up and realized its just a bomb truck and not an actual fighter. That was a major let down lol. Still the coolest designs for an aircraft ever though.

[@rcrawford42]

Yeah, the "F" designation was either a joke or misdirection.

[@georgewhitworth9742]

@@rcrawford42I think that was a high brass decision. They felt like people would be more likely to want to try out this new aircraft if it was a "fighter" instead of a "bomber"

[@KlLLERROBOT99]

This plane is meant to be a stealth bomber. It gets to the battle, drops its payload, and then leaves before the enemy knew what happened.

[@thenecromorpher]

More so a Stealth Attacker, but with the same strategy. Attack the base before the base gets alerted, then dip before they notice the plane.

[@khannaraha8817]

Today on BTG: Bo enforces a fishing licence, Zuit's squeezing into tight spaces and Stickboy tries to look pretty.

[@armandorodrigues144]

that is not how radars work if the radar can't detect you, it cannot lock onto you just because you can visually detect the enemy

[@lithobreak3812]

Wouldn't it depend on the kind of radar system? Many AAs have separate radar sets for searching and for tracking

[@antonytheocharidis9576]

If youre reffering to tracking vs search radar, I think its an interesting debate since often times they use different bands for search and track, one obvious such example is the Pantsir with F and K bands for the radars respectively (which is why the tracking radar is invisible to a lot of RWRs, although they could be adjusted on more modern jets to include it in their perceived threats sensors which is why I'm against the current shenanigans with it) but if you're referring to the mistake they made when talking about the Strela, the sensor on top of it is a RANGING radar, not a tracking one, which is because optically the Strela can lock on to F117, which might have been what Bo was a bit mistaken about too, since he had his lock mode to automatic, which checks for both options to see which one can get a clearer lock, so he might have been locking on optically rather than the IR signature. EDIT: it has come to my attention that its also has a PASSIVE radar receiver, namely 9S16 Flat Box RF Passive Detection System (the little box thingy above the driver's optics) which is essentially a ground rwr which automatically cues the TELAR linked to the system to the direction of the source of the signal. It also allows the Strela to have advanced warning about aircraft vaguely pointed in their direction, forcing them to keep their radars off.

[@jameson1239]

Actually it is search radars tend to use longer wavelengths which carry batter over distance and have better ability to detect stealth aircraft tracking radars tend to use lower wavelengths for higher fidelity but lower wavelengths have a harder time detecting stealth

[@mint39727]

As someone who stopped playing warthunder back in 2020 I have to admit it’s incredibly satisfying watching you laser a target with the F117 watch the bomb bay deploy and watch it reach its target. I know you suggested that a nice change for Air RB for the plane would be an air spawn instead of having to take off. Though I find another change that could work is that the plane itself does not show a player target icon in Air RB until you are at a certain distance to the aircraft. This I think would help with the intent of the aircraft which is to avoid detection whilst still keeping it balanced since the plane does not have any means to defend itself.

[@crafter3355]

I like the F117 for the same reason I like the F15. There're so many cool stories about their development and time in service that they really stand out to me.

[@Pyroturtle1]

And probably the worst part is since it only has 2 2000lb bombs, you're a sliver away from destrying a base on your own

[@swimbo]

So one thing about the F117 being an F designation is because of various treaties meant the U.S. could only have a specified number of bomber aircraft. If they were to build it as a specified B117, they would have to reduce the number of bomber aircraft in the inventory to remain treaty complient. I believe they then managed to secure an air to air kill of a helicopter with some sort of bomb from the F117 allowing the military to say it is a "fighter". Thats a story I have heard and believe

[@NarcassiticGamer]

If I recall it was almost entirely because the best pilots wanted the prestige of flying a fighter instead of a bomber, otherwise it probably would have gotten an Attack designation, same with the F-111, so to attract the best pilots the USAF had they fudged the designation.

[@khannaraha8817]

So I'm guessing the Air RB system of showing enemy combatant names kind of ruins the planes sole defensive ability of not being able to be seen easily.

[@panzerabwerkanone]

Fact about the F-117 and it's stealth capability. They designed the shape to be super stealthy THEN tried to make that shape flyable! The engines on this are the non-afterburner version of the F404 (F404-F1D2) engine used on the F-18 Hornet. I used to overhaul these engines. Also NEVER intended to deployed as a day bombing aircraft. The reason it is called the Nighthawk. Duh!

[@tim-thetoolman-taylor]

14:18 I’ve been there They have a P-400 hanging from the ceiling at the entrance I remember seeing them restoring their F-117

[@Waysif]

you should have no nametag when u fly this as stealth aspect in air rb

[@azuresstuff]

or at least a greatly reduced nametag range

[@pripyatlootcrew6644]

About a month ago I went to Hill AFB Aerospace museum and was able to see the F-117 up close. I was way way excited to see such a cool plane up close, it made my month.

[@ALL_Design.CO69]

Cool you should go to WPAFB in Ohio the museum there is AWSOME

[@ALL_Design.CO69]

I saw the f117 too I only wish I spent more time looking at it

[@codystell]

Bo now you know how I feel about the A-10 in Warthunder I absolutely love the aircraft but gaijin completely bungled its redundancies and I constantly get blasted by Russian and Chinese AAA right after spawning

[@Redbeardian]

I used to play the heck out of F-19 Stealth Fighter game right before the F-117 became public knowledge, so I also have a particular nostalgia for this plane.

[@Masonjar94]

It makes my tism tingle when you do the informative videos

[@imreallytired1271]

Watching the intro makes me miss the long discussion videos y'all would do about military history. Hope you do more of these intros or bring back those vids.

[@Rockethead293]

I wonder if they used those documents that got leaked for the model.

[@codominus1017]

Nah, those were sent to the KGB via private connections.

[@bilalsadiq1450]

I mean, the F-117 is basically ancient history, you can probably just find publicly available blueprints, or they may have even just scanned a museum piece to make a 3D model.

[@Rockethead293]

@@bilalsadiq1450 What I'm referring to is the restricted documents that were leaked on the War Thunder forums a while ago that included stuff like sensor locations.

[@DanielKing-o4j]

Man I love how you give us a whole history lesson before playing, lots of cool facts about the nighthawk. Fricking awesome aircraft!

[@blasthammer1806]

about 70-80 percent of people ive seen fly the F-117 just treat it like a lawn dart but that seems to be the norm these days with all planes

[@GenericWhiteMan00]

The Wobblin' Goblin didn't fly well in real life. If it wasn't for all of the computers, it wouldn't get off the ground.

[@mobilememes1313]

I mean it flew well because of the computers

[@Khotetsu]

That describes most modern jets. Fly by wire systems keep the F-16 in the air as well, for example. I remember somebody mentioning when the first F-4 was released in the game that somebody (I think from the UK) remarked about the plane when the US first deployed them that "America has a knack for making things that shouldn't fly, fly."

[@flyguy1237]

Bo if you haven't heard it yet, the F-117 episode on the "Fighter Pilot Podcast" has a great interview and set of stories from a retired F-117 pilot.

[@HoosierTrey]

I really love how you guys explain the history behind these aircraft. As both an engineer and a history nerd, it’s just awesome. Also helps with the longer video length 😉

[@flikoz1973]

love these kind of videos where you go over the history and other tid bits.

[@RyRy_941]

Loved the little history lesson at the beginning, Bo! I thought I knew a fair bit about the F-117 already, but I had no idea about the lone fighter version. That is really cool. Shame it didn't work out. This video however really did work out!! I feel all your effort and pain was worth it! Thanks for the content, fellas!

[@Frozenflare]

Love the beginning with all the interesting facts. The F-117 is also something very special to me. It was my first and only model I ever had and something I have many childhood memories associated with

[@zachb4186]

I love that historical intro to the video, wish you'd do more historical focused stuff in full length. I used to watch your plane specific videos back in the day (side chat podcast) and I adored the series so much!

[@mrwar5989]

A guy I work with was working construction one summer with his dad on this guys house and found out he was a pilot of the Nighthawk when the plane was NEW. Said it was an interesting conversation and he got a challenge coin from the guy before the job was done. Love the video Bo!

[@CollinTheSav]

Fun fact, the YF-23 also has the similar tailplane design.

[@sawyerawr5783]

one of my favorite stories from the F-117's service comes out of the Yugoslav war...and no, it's not the one you think it is. I forget what night it was, but there were -117s and F-15s up, I believe attacking an airfield. Yugo MiG-29s came up to challenge them, and the F-15s...you know, being F-15s...basically went "Ah, free XP!" The issue was the F-117s were between the high F-15s and the climbing MiG-29s. This let to an amusing incident where an AIM-120 flashed past the right side of a Nighthawk, followed quickly by a nearly-supersonic Eagle.

[@Finleymcg]

See the TV series "Dogfights" series 2 episode 9. The F-15 drivers talked about what would happen if there were fighter in the area, as they were going to be above the F-117s. The F-117s said that wouldn't happen. So, as you said, it DID happen, only it was 3 AIM-120s and the F-15. The key aspect was, the F-15 didn't know the F-117 was there at all, only seeing the Mig-29s taking off.

[@furioussherman7265]

​@@FinleymcgI remember that episode. Dogfights was such a great show.

[@Finleymcg]

@@furioussherman7265 Yes, got both series on DVD.

[@Radzaification]

I've still got a Revell 1:72 modelkit sitting around. 10 year old me thought it didn't need paint because the plastic was black 😂 Probably my third ever model I made, and the aircraft that got me hooked!

[@mfrsr]

finally....Bo's back in a plane again ❤

[@tallleprechaun1318]

Thank you for the dissertation/history in the beginning. Really enjoy learning more about the actual aircraft in these videos.

[@JacobP1234]

The F-117 also is supposed to have a much smaller IR signature, but gaijin hasn't taken that into consideration. Realistically it should be hard to lock it with anything but a very good all aspect missile. Not to mention its still very easy for radar SPAA to lock it despite the stealth.

[@Jezza_C_WT]

18:12 The Apache helicopter wasn't the only thing with a tight interior that day 👀

[@okonkwojones]

0:28 I too am of the nighthawk t-shirt generation and I’m pretty sure I wore one.

[@azuresstuff]

i’m still gonna get it even if it’s bad. I had a little toy F-117 as a kid and have loved it since

[@tiernanlmorgan]

I got to see an f-117 in person at the Palm Springs air museum. Honestly one of the neatest looking aircraft I’ve ever seen.

[@hawkusmc-legiongaming7823]

Wobblin' Goblin is by far my fav aircraft - Also fun fact, the Engine cooling and stealth is so good on the F117A that you can track it over the ocean because it is actually "cooler" that the ocean on IR - But in Desert Storm it flew 1500 missions with no losses

[@Phoenix_Phelan]

Great video Bo! Loved getting the history of the plane in the beginning, and your thoughts on it in game!

[@sniper6823]

My fav aircraft growing up? Avro Vulcan. Every time i saw it on TV or on youtube i watched videos about it for hours.

[@sempermilites87]

Funny story about the development of the Nighthawk. They made a very large, but not 1:1 scale of the aircraft and tested it on a radar range where they bombard objects with radar to measure its radar cross section. When the test started, they started the radars on a very high setting where they can get as many returns as possible and aimed it squarely at the model. They immediately got a blip back and the engineers were very disappointed. When they looked back onto the test range, they realized a bird had landed on the model itself and was what the radar was detecting. The model itself was so stealthy, it was only visible on radar if a bird landed on it.

[@nb392]

I like that they added this unique plane but wish it was just slightly lower in BR. Great video Bo and co.

[@alexandergalletly9195]

That intro is amazing!! The second I watched it, I knew it's a 10/10 video.

[@EthanMilley-o6s]

Best part of updates is seeing y’all play them

[@JuicedBurningGundam031]

A Heyo Bo hope you’re having a good day, week. Your hard work is much appreciated and keep up the great work :D. And to the friends of Bo, much appreciation from my side for helping Bo produce content and being great friends. I will try to keep consistency with commenting this giant list of tanks, but other than that great video Bo! (DISCLAIMER: Some vehicles have been done so excuse the double input). Like always, the choice Is yours! America: M4A3E2/ M4A3E2 (76) W, T14, M56, M50, T26E5, T26E1-1, T34, M46, M47, M103, T95, M728 CEV, M6A2E1, T54E2, T54E1, M551, M3 Bradley, XM803, LAV-AD, M1128, CCVL, HSTV-L Germany: 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl, VFW, KW II 754 (r), DF105, Radkampfwagen 90, Leopard 2K, Gepard, Wiesel 1A2, VT1-2, Maus, Turm III, Raketenautomat, TAM-2C, Panther II, Tiger II H/ Tiger II (H) Sla.16, Jagdtiger, Russia: KV-1 (L-11), T-34-85 (D-5T), KV-2 (1939), SU-100Y, KV-220, T-34-100, T-44-100, BTR-ZD, M53/59, 2S3M, ASU-85, T-54 (1951), IS-3, IS-4M, SU-122-54, Object 268, IS-6, Object 120, T-10A/T10M, TO-55, IT-1, Object 775, T-55AMD-1, BMP-3, BMD-4, BMP-2M, Object 292, IS-7, Object 279, PT-76-57 Great Britain: Matilda III, AEC MK II, Churchill Crocodile, Skink, FV4005, Falcon, Conway, Conqueror, Centurion Mk.5 AVRE, Rooikat 105/MTTD, ZA-35, Bhishma TWMP, Black Night Japan: Chi-Ha Short Gun, Chi-Ri-II, Chi-Ha LG, Ho-Ri Prototype/ Production, Type 87 RCV, Type 74 (F)/ Type 74 (E)/ Type 74 (G), TXK (P), Type 16, Type 75 MLRS, TKX/Type 10, Type 60 SPRG, Type 93 China: Object 122MT, ZBD04A, ZLT11, PGZ09, Italy: Breda 501, AUBL/74 HVG, FIAT 6614, R3 T20 FA-HS, C13-90, R3 T160 FA, VCC-80/60, OF-40 MTCA (recently got DM33), Centauro I 120, OTOMATIC, Leopard 1A5 (The Italian Leopard is the only Leopard variant that features a Laser Warning Receiver) France: 2C Bis, E.B.R (1954), Somua SM, AMX-50 Foch, AMX-10RC, MEPHISTO, Lorraine 40t, AMX-Surblindé, AMX-50 (TO90/930), AMX-32 (120)/ AMX-40, LecLerc’s (Any variant) Israel: Magach Hydra, Namer 30 New vehicles from update: PLZ05 (166mm penetration of HVAP HE), JA37DI (either pack or tech tree), T77E1 (A Texan must love his .50 cals), Super Hind, Bmp-2MD

[@chasemoon8519]

That makes me not wanna go after it, but it’s such a greater craft in real life

[@derpychicken2131]

Honestly I don't feel like it was done dirty in WT, its performance feels accurate enough to real life. The issue is that war thunder is completely not designed around any sort of stealth bombing at all. The game design favours dogfights and SPAA, bombing targets are few and far between on a huge hairball dogfight in broad daylight. We already know bombers in the game have been suffering for forever because of the game design shafting them, the f117 really didn't need to be in this game and has no real role in war thunder.

[@Khotetsu]

@@derpychicken2131 I've been saying this for 10 years at this point about various parts of the game. The game's biggest enemy is its design. They've never been able to make bombers fun in air battles, and I don't know if they've ever even tried. Helicopters still don't have their own gameplay mode outside of the event, and how long have they been in the game. From the furballs of air RB to the knife fights with artillery guns over capture points and laser rangefinders sniping people in spawn from across the map while you die to CAS weapons you can't do anything about, the game just isn't designed for a lot of what we have access to.

[@oscaromeara8193]

11:40 Speaking of giant flags slapped on planes, the JASDF has (or had) an F-15J with the Australian flag covering almost the entire top of the left wing (JASDF F-15J, 303 Sq Japan and Australia Joint Training 'Bushido Guardian' 2023

[@johnroscoe2406]

Please don't talk about whisky. I'm trying not to smoke anymore, which means I also can't drink most hard liquor, because that will make me smoke lol

[@Leonidas1210vc]

Praying for your efforts to be fruitful 👍🏽

[@johnroscoe2406]

@@Leonidas1210vc Yeah so am I lol. Thanks.

[@desertwandererr7370]

you got this, I believe in you! tbh I understand, I also had to stop drinking last year and know how that goes

[@johnroscoe2406]

@@desertwandererr7370 My issue is I psychologically attached smoking to a number of things, among them having a drink and driving (SEPARATELY lol).

[@ScreamingMerlin]

Ok Bo, we got an f-117. Now we need the f-15e or at least the f-15i

[@kerbalairforce8802]

I'd take a Nighthawk to Sim Battle since its the only mode that doesn't put a giant red label over your head.

[@JackSeaEagle]

Thanks for the history and intro at the start, love seeing it.

[@matthewalbee]

Thank you TBLF for an amazing video. Bo I think this is my favorite of the year

[@TehGreatBuck]

I think we're seeing the limitations of WT's game engine when it comes to stealth aircraft

[@AkolouthosKryos]

Got a poster of the F-117 from the book fair when I was in elementary school. 2004ish. I still have it and I will always have it on my wall no matter where I live.

[@williamdawes4903]

Love the intro. This was the first plane that I was super interested in when I was young. Thanks for doing such a great intro!

[@botimegaming]

I am glad you enjoyed it!

[@LudensP]

I always enjoy it when videos go into the history of a vehicle.

[@ShakyJake195]

Can’t wait to watch the hide and seek with the 117

[@Jadefox32]

this will be nice in Sim at a br where you can see and laze things others can't

[@deadronin47]

Bo you have to have use the f117 in hide and seek please I’m begging Better still give strums a f117 Think how many time Bo will be scared

[@HenryMartin-d5j]

Bo, i was at the KazooAzoo the year we had a B2 coming back and were given permission to do a fly over late 90s in broad daylight back when seeing one of those at all was considered a miracle. If i remember correctly it was coming back from bringing freedom to someone.

[@AstroBlakeD]

Between BONEs Spooky and the Nighthawk, we really had some kick ass bringers of "dead of night" back in the day, B2 had a lot to live up to, and the 21 will continue the legacy

[@jtl-08]

"Attacked by a geometry teacher" is the best description of this plane I have ever heard.

[@matthewgillies7509]

I think an easy assist for this plane in the air combat matches is simple: No name or player marker. Visual spotting only, no target information. It is after all a stealth plane.

[@1320crusier]

The story I saw about why the 117 was used in 17 was because of the laser designation system. There wasnt an equal to it at the time for other aircraft.

[@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren]

1st exposure to the F-117 was the RC model on a channel called RCpowers. Really interested me as a kid. Still a big tomcat fan boy though

[@Jonathan-rv4lj]

A little condensed history lesson of the F-117, out of all F-117 produced one was shot down, this happened during the Serbian war. The reason why the F-117 was shot down was during its bombing campaign against Serbia, one night a few F-117 took off from their base to bomb enemy targets. This base however was being spied on, and also due to F-117 only being allowed to fly a certain path, the Serbians knew the general location the F-117s would be flying in. So one SAM placement was watching the radar for the planes to appear, but nothing appeared on radar and so the radar guy (sorry I don’t know the proper terminology) kept turning his radar on and off every few radar cycles and it just so happened when he turned on his radar the F-117 had its bomb bays open, meaning the plane lost it’s stealth ability and was now low visibility. So the radar guy spotted the F-117 and fired two ground to air missiles, one missed the F-117 but the other hit the plane. Lucky the pilot was able to eject and was saved by American forces.

[@bilalsadiq1450]

Whenever this story is mentioned, it always results in some kind of argument about incompetence or poor engineering etc, but I'd say it really speaks to the strengths on both sides: the merits of the plane to be basically completely invisible, despite the radar operators KNOWING that they were there, whilst the Serbian planning and intelligence gathering that allowed the much less sophisticated assets (like air defence and intelligence equipment) being able to come together to shoot the plane down.

[@MrGeforcerFX]

Honestly the story about the SAM battery commander and how they modified the radars a bit and the tactics they used to keep the site alive under intense American SEAD activity is pretty amazing.

[@johnsettembrino4571]

Fun fact the geometric shape was actually found in a Russian archive. And that also contributed to its shape. Just because" it's officially retired ". Doesn't mean the milatery will never use it again. We've pulled and used WW2 battle ships out of retirement.

[@JustACrewChief]

14:49 as a maintainer in the air force I would be pulling my hairs out if I saw a pilot fly like that due to all the inspections that would need to be done. Just more for my air frame I work on.

[@sydney4814]

7:20 Mr Bo! this test was a mild mistake in that you were using auto-select-guidance on the Strela! aka the game decides on if you should optically track or IR track, as it was a clear sky the missile switched to the much-longer (and unjammable) optical tracking which negates F-117's stealth! (also, in Air RB, enemy AI ground targets spot you for the enemy team) (also fun fact, did you know that *technically* there were two F-117s shot down by that SPAA commander? they shot a second one a few weeks later, it managed to get back to base but was so badly damaged it was scrapped on site and sent back to the USA in parts for analysis. because it didn't crash/explode after the initial hit they were never credited with the kill)

[@biomike01]

Technically is didnt get shot down if it made it back to base, written off yes shot down no

[@sydney4814]

@@biomike01 if a plane is written off from damage and performs a crash landing, yes that's a shootdown.

[@biomike01]

@@sydney4814 It did not crash land, it got back to base safe and sound but the damage made it not worth repairing Think of it like a cars transmission breaking so it cant go over 3rd gear, ya it still works in gears 1-3 but you are going to want to get that replaced or it could break entirely

[@TomPrickVixen]

I had a F-117 model as a kid; with open bomb-bay, and it had Aim-9s on it!

[@jamieaulbach5120]

I as a munitions guy got to work with the 117 during the initial invasion to Iraq. I saw one of the targets the pilot was given as he climbed into the jet (he showed us). We then went to midnight chow and the news network had that building in its camera view and I got to watch the strike live eating dinner.

[@chrisgateway-rh6eg]

I remember getting models and toys of this aircraft...iconic airplane of my childhood and I don't care if it's good in game I love it

[@CreativeChaos9]

My first experience with the F-117 after one test flight: Shot down by enemy AA right after getting into the defended zone. Stealth works really well I guess.

[@nellver4425]

i love Zuits decals as of late. keep up the good work guys!

[@RiflesGunner]

6:25 use smth with a stinger too, you can lock it from farther than it says in the stinger’s stat card. I’m pretty sure they took its stealth and IR away too, it’s like a F14A with the hit engines, they should restore it to what it was back on the final dev server or when it was at its peak

[@Warlord-aus]

Such a nerd start to the video absolutely love it!!! 31:42 yes 100% yes that's amazing and funny af that should be a custom skin

[@domokoskelen3975]

They could make all f117’s not have a nametag, like inground rb/sim, but for all gamemodes, artificially stralthifying it

[@devinsobleski2783]

Flew it for the first time last night. Took off before my squad mate loaded in and circled around to rejoin him upon takeoff. Make it 98% through the first turn around to go back to airfield, the other 2% was a spin into the ground

[@aniditys]

The funny thing is that IRL the radars will see you but can´t lock you. apparently in wt is exactly the oposite.

[@lightarmor44]

I'm pretty sure the first time I saw the 117 was in an ace combat game, I could 100 % be mistaking another game for AC since its been so long or it could have been a whole different fake aircraft, and it was labeled as a fighter and you could arm it with A2A and it was really fun to play. Ever since then its been burned into my brain and I love the aircraft, as bad as it may be in game I'm happy to see it continue to show up in video games.

[@CustomCoin7200]

Great thumbnail Mr. Bo

[@egmccann]

Favourite plane growing up was... hmm. Honestly, I love the look of the F-106 and the F-5E. Those two just... *chef's kiss.* A-10 is right up there too. In any case... Should you be near (or going to) either the USAF Museum in Dayton, or the Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Michigan - and if the latter, *go to the restoration shop, both to see this and just to see the cool stuff they have* - you can see an F-117. The one in Kalamazoo's the only private one, as I recall (and they had to do some scrounging while restoring to simulate all the stuff that had to be taken off. it's really fascinating.) (Edit - posted that before watching, great that youv'e been to kalamazoo!) The USAF museum, of course, also has the YF-23 (*gorgeous*) and the X-32 (Not... quite so gorgeous,) among other things. Plan two days, I was rushing through that last hangar!

[@MrPanzer234]

The plane should be near invisible from most angles except for directly above or below and IR missiles should not be as effective against as they are. The only time it should be visible is when its bomb bay is open and that’s only open for a split second as it’s designed to drop the bomb as soon as it opens. I Love the plane but it is definitely not as effective as its real life counterpart. I think the plane should definitely be buffed because it is lacking in game currently.

[@yoyo7718]

i mean everything you said in the beginning is accurate to real life too, so tbh its accurate. it didnt have air to air, and it was known to be extremely difficult to fly without losing control

[@JTBondrew]

one of the fellas sounds like a slightly higher pitched Cleetus Mcfarland, I keep expecting him to say "Hell Yeah Brother" lol

[@CactiKing200]

From my experience the tactic to do it to have a single jdam, and a single laser guided bomb, to hit two targets in one pass, i would side climb about 10-12km away and approach from their own spawn. Clouds make it a lot easier.

[@michaelblum4968]

They have one at the SAC museum near Omaha ... as of a couple months ago, it has all its paint removed, which makes it look like something made in high school metalshop.

[@Terrados1337]

they actually pulled it off! WW2 interceptor vs 80s stealth plane.