The Insane Engineering of the F-117 Nighthawk

[@CaptainBrawnson]

The most interesting thing about the F-117 to me is that, without the computational power to effectively simulate radar returns at high fidelity yet, engineers had to simplify things. Which is why it has simplified flat panels, while modern stealth aircraft have complex curves. The F-117 is literally a low poly stealth aircraft.

[@najlitarvan921]

i though part of it was manufacturing complexity of stealth paneling and making it curved

[@ur_a_neerd]

If I remember correctly they had to break it down into a bunch of triangles and then calculate the radar return off of each triangle, then sum it up, pretty much a low poly aircraft.

[@3isr3g3n]

It's mind blowing what engineers did back then without computers.

[@somelokyguy6466]

@@3isr3g3n The design was generated with a computer, hardware limitations of the time are what lead to the low-poly design.

[@KevinEnjoyer]

The F-117 being stealthy is basically a hollowed out log in terms of boating. It's primitive af, but it floats and works:)

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I remember watching an interview with one of the F-117 pilots from the strike and he talked about his post-strike count to make sure everyone in his airgroup made it (using satellite markers, I think, no radio traffic) and he kept coming up one short, and as he was on the way to panic-land, he realized he forgot to count himself.

[@PhotonBeast]

In such a high stress situation, I can't really blame him for the (in hindsight) humourous little oversight.

[@quintonconoly]

Wow

[@hamzamahmood9565]

Its like wearing the glasses over your head type situation

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@quintonconoly I heard this in Owen Wilson's voice.

[@Our-Creator-Loves-Us]

The video is really proof that we have a Creator.❤️ Everything you saw in the video (the jet, the clouds; the ground) are made of things called “atoms”! And these are amazing than you think: Atoms are so small, millions could fit on the period at the end of this comment! -> . Everything around you, from your hand to the whole universe, are made of 100+ different types of atoms! And guess what? The screen you’re using to read this KZbin comment is also made from 100+ different types of atoms - that’s around trillions of trillions (more than you can imagine) of atoms! We really live in a detailed world.🌌 A world that did not exist by accident, but invented!

[@homiedaclown4381]

One of my favorite stories of the development of the Nighthawk is when during testing, Skunk Works put a model of it up on a pedestal and hit it with different radar waves to see if they could get a return off of the model. They ended up getting a return off of the pedestal, then hovering a few feet above it they got a return from an object about the size of a bird. The technicians then looked out at the model and saw, sitting on the cockpit, a small bird.

[@Our-Creator-Loves-Us]

The video is really proof that we have a Creator.❤️ Everything you saw in the video (the jet, the clouds; the ground) are made of things called “atoms”! And these are amazing than you think: Atoms are so small, millions could fit on the period at the end of this comment! -> . Everything around you, from your hand to the whole universe, are made of 100+ different types of atoms! And guess what? The screen you’re using to read this KZbin comment is also made from 100+ different types of atoms - that’s around trillions of trillions (more than you can imagine) of atoms! We really live in a detailed world.🌌 A world that did not exist by accident, but invented!

[@quistador7]

@@Our-Creator-Loves-Us it's not proof at all lmfao. you just THINK it''s proof because you have already made up your mind about it being created. We have no proof at the moment. I'm not saying there isn't a creator, but I am saying there is ZERO PROOF

[@Hurricayne92]

@@0QualityOverQuantity "Creator" implies some level of intelligence behind it. Now just looking at nature, if it was created what ever did it certainly wasnt all that intelligent.

[@laurencehoffelder1579]

As far as I recall that wasnt the Have Blue (Nighthawk) but the Tacit Blue.

[@BetaBreaking]

​@@Our-Creator-Loves-Usseek mental help

[@Leatherbelt665]

My parents were both in Security Police during the 90s in the USAF. My father used to tell me a lot of stories about his time at Eglin AFB and this aircraft was his all time favorite. One of his favorite (and most boring) posts was watching over the 117s. What’s funny is he was always told to NEVER touch these aircraft due to the material on these aircraft but he ended up touching one secretly lolol. One of the best moments of his life. My father passed away in 2016 sadly but I still have a picture of him standing next to this beautiful aircraft with his m16. I have never been huge into aircrafts until my father passed and anytime I see the F-117 anywhere I always think of him. Rest in peace dad.

[@iPvrks]

My father recently passed as well and as much as he hates flying because of his time in the marines he absolutely loves military aircraft. It’s become a new found passion of mine.

[@VidarrKerr]

He didn't "pass away", he died because he touched the aircraft he wasn't supposed to touch. Did he die of cancer, heart failure, other organ failure?

[@firewings-i4p]

@@VidarrKerr its really not your business to know how their loved one died.

[@VidarrKerr]

@@firewings-i4p There is a history of people dying after touching crafts they were not supposed to touch. Usually, it is rapid cancer. Anyway, it is his business if he wants to respond, not yours. Mind your own business.

[@peppapig9987]

​@@VidarrKerr its iron feride. Nothing dangerous. He was probably not told to not touch it for that reason.

[@awesome_by_default]

22:58 There's a poetic beauty in the shot of an F-117 and F-22 flying side by side.

[@j4s0n39]

23:20 The F-117 lost in Serbia wasn't due to the Serbians' doctrine. In fact, they had to violate the doctrine by activating the radar a second time in the same location. This second sweep happened when the pilot had the bomb bay doors open, so the radar was able to detect the Nighthawk. Additionally, the Serbians wouldn't have known where to look if USAF hadn't gotten lazy and used the same flight paths for multiple strikes.

[@milosdenkovic1984]

We didn't know it was invisible

[@baguette2117]

@@milosdenkovic1984 It was never invisible the US got lazy while Serbs took some very big risks and got very lucky.

[@CONNNE]

Sorry for that brother, we did not know it was invisible

[@j4s0n39]

@@milosdenkovic1984 I never said it was invisible. I said the American planners made a mistake by using the same attack route, which let the Serbs know where to look. I said the Serb commander violated the doctrine by running the radar a second time in the same location. And I said there was a little luck involved, because the F-117 opened its bay doors (which are highly reflective) at the same time the radar was running that second scan. If not for all three of those factors, the plane would have probably gone back to base without incident.

[@djpunisha29]

​@@j4s0n39Serbian officer and the f117 pilot became friends after that.

[@awgates85]

The Nighthawk that was shot down, also had the fact it flew a regular route at a regular time, and advance spotters visually confirming the takeoff and route relaying that information to the aerial defense. I think knowing the route and time really played against the aircraft's effectiveness.

[@Di3Leberwurst]

Yep this is probably the most important point in the shootdown.

[@mitchellcouchman1444]

@@Di3Leberwurst no the most important was the Jamming plane wasn't active. Most narratives forget that from the point of the formally engagement of US military they never again operated without jamming as they knew they were detectable especially by the 90s. Reports from the US's own evaluations also showed Iraq was more S.E.A.D. than D.E.A.D.

[@codymelton1657]

They also had their bomb bay doors open which increases the radar signature

[@micklenier6152]

also no fighter assistance. F-117 had no countermeasures.

[@kienerj]

Not very stealthy indeed

[@aithwndr]

Your graphics team needs its own "The insane..." episode to truly understand its magnificent work off late. It's impressive. Thank you for choosing to put such effort and still keep it free here. You'll always see me cheering your team and you.

[@user-et2dx5du7e]

i will definitely watch ”the insane engineering of real engineering”

[@Our-Creator-Loves-Us]

The video is really proof that we have a Creator.❤️ Everything you saw in the video (the jet, the clouds; the ground) are made of things called “atoms”! And these are amazing than you think: Atoms are so small, millions could fit on the period at the end of this comment! -> . Everything around you, from your hand to the whole universe, are made of 100+ different types of atoms! And guess what? The screen you’re using to read this KZbin comment is also made from 100+ different types of atoms - that’s around trillions of trillions (more than you can imagine) of atoms! We really live in a detailed world.🌌 A world that did not exist by accident, but invented!

[@kellyfrench]

The bit at 20:45 made me remember playing the video game for the F117 and doing all sorts of crazy stuff like dogfighting enemy fighters and landing on carriers in the gulf. Good times, even if unrealistic.

[@deeann8923]

The 117’s had no other offensive capability beyond the 2 bombs that it carried, so dogfighting was a fantasy. Oddly enough, the planes were equipped with an arresting hook, but as the plane landed at about 180mph, I don’t think you would actually want to do that.

[@clyded_thysilly]

​@deeann8923 while the irl and war thunder versions of the -117 might have been the opposite of a weapon meant for dogfighting, a roblox game named Mad City took the Nighthawk, the Falcon and the Warhawk, and gave them futuristic sci fi technology. Nighthawk was given lock on missiles and semi transparent trail from the thrusters, Warhawk was given speed lock on missiles and the falcon remained a bomber jet. Every missile can do up to 60 dmg and can disable any air vehicle if it hit the front. There is a rocket launcher heli in the game, never found out the origins of that thing.

[@SimonBauer7]

​@@deeann8923its still weird to me that a stealth bomber is designated with f but yeah

[@thijnberkers1196]

Awesome video once again 👏 ❤

[@FloridaManMatty]

My Uncle Tommy was an engineer for the -117. One thing that I love about that airplane is the fact that Have Blue used so many off the shelf parts to make it happen. They used bits and bobs from the F-15, F-16, F-18, F-111, B-52(!!!) and it came in on time, on budget, and changed the future of air power as much as, if not even more than, jet engines.

[@Idontknow4]

Imagine stealth propellor aircraft Edit:(To clarify) a stealth ww2 era propellor plane

[@methos1999]

Hahaha that's definitely an engineer's mindset. When I design I try to maximize how much of it can be sourced through McMaster-Carr.

[@johnsmith1474]

This pos changed nothing but the money piles of the .01%

[@oldfrend]

probably the most sensible way to develop future tech - go with mature technology for non-critical components. we learned this the hard way after all the fuckery with the f22 and f35 as well as the zumwalts. the b21 development is going smoothly cuz pretty much all the hardware under the skin is already developed.

[@canis2020]

​@@Idontknow4did you not understand the video?

[@ettcha]

9:48 That guy crawling into the intake just triggered so many fears and revulsions in me😂 Seeing him do that sent shivers down my spine!

[@SpydersByte]

forreal, hope they were practicing lock-out-tag-out, and Id have to verify it myself before climbing in there 😅

[@Cleatus546]

😱OMG! Are you ok?

[@thaileinh9877]

I am reading "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich. Not only it is an illuminating story about how these incredible aircrafts were developed, but also some lessons about leadership and manufacturing. When 2 operational F-117 test models were taking test flight, someone asked Ben Rich: "How much do they cost?" Ben Rich answered "35 millions." The other man asked again "No, not each of them. I mean the entire development." Ben replied "35 millions." This was developed when Lockheed was in financial trouble. Ben put faith in his engineers at Skunk Works to create the breakthrough of aviation technology, while keeping it perhaps the only case of a cost "under-run" in military technology development.

[@thaileinh9877]

(I might have some details wrong, but please forgive me. I read the book in English and it is not my first language.)

[@sentinelav]

@@thaileinh9877 Thanks for posting - that small a budget for such advanced development really is astounding.

[@BlakeAStoffel]

Great book!

[@SpydersByte]

@@thaileinh9877 ah I guess thats probably why you said "35 millionS" twice :D we dont pluralize 'million' in english :D 35,000,000 is just 35 million

[@rstrela]

I love that book

[@lemster101]

I watched the video on Nebula, but unable to comment there. Your content has become so good recently. The people doing your animations combined with all the details you provide, just absolutely next level quality. There's others that do similar content, but your content sets the bar.

[@bumpedhishead636]

Thank you for talking about the very complex F-117 mission planning system. Very few discussions of the F-117 recognize this critical aspect of the F-117 system. One thing you did not mention is the very advanced (for its time) flight control system of the F-117. This was required due to the airframe being aerodynamically unstable in pitch, roll & yaw. This was made possible by the airflow probes on the nose of the F-117, which was yet another very complex and underappreciated breakthrough from the ADP engineering team.

[@deeann8923]

Fred Bell, the PSAM director, did an interview with Bob Loschke who led the team that did the fly-by-wire system for the F-117. On KZbin search for: Under the Cowling - Bob Loschke

[@MichaelLundy-qk6zh]

I was training to get my pilot's license, learning about smooth airflow over lifting surfaces so the first time I saw a F-117 with all the angles and hard edges, my first thought was "That thing flies?" Fast forward several years. I watched a documentary where they interviewed all the first test pilots. ALL of them, every one said the first time they saw it they thought "That thing flies?"

[@LutraLovegood]

You can make anything fly given enough power, the real question is how long!

[@parkerbond9400]

It's just falling with style

[@billallen3696]

No, the computer flies-the pilot just gives requests and suggestions.

[@clyded_thysilly]

they added such a vehicle to mad city and upon my first glance at it i thought it was just some funny fictional sci fi jet because i didnt think anything remotely close to that would exist and actually fly. Fast forward a few years and i find out that such a thing actually exists, it can fly, it's a war weapon, and it's stealthy, like in the game. Oh boy imagine my reaction if you told old me that the nighthawk actually exists, and fully functional.

[@danielficke131]

I currently work at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Nebraska, home of F-117 Nighthawk 85-0831, which currently holds the record of most flight hours of any Nighthawk and was the one that flew with the Skunkworks logo on its belly for the retirement of Ben Rich.

[@Jack-ce8we]

Im local to this museum, that 117 was a sight to see last year without the ram coatings! What do you do at the museum?

[@danielficke131]

@@Jack-ce8we I work in the Guest Services Department, but I was actually working the day that the F-117 arrived from its road trip from Tonopah

[@repapeti98]

With so many channels using text-to-speech programs, reading only the first numerical information found by googling without fact-checking and deliberately making mistakes so people comment how the video is wrong, therefore bringing engagement, It's nice to see well-researched, high quality documentaries that have clearly had a lot of thought and effort put into them.

[@ashscott6068]

@@cruisinguy6024 Just instantly click away from them. It's always obvious. Usually they can't even write the title without it sounding like a made up language

[@elbolainas4174]

Well, about that...

[@stopasking_formyname]

The video opens with an obvious error. And here I am still feeding the algorithm anyway. 🫠

[@breuilly66]

Literally a big mistake 30 seconds in 😂

[@BallisticAviation]

what are you talking about i'm not even 10 minutes in and there are two glaring mistakes in both the presentation and the representation of some of the technologies being discussed. edit: it gets worse.

[@live_monkey2485]

As a 90s kid, the f117 always fascinated me. This was a very informative video. Thanks for the upload.

[@ItsShainess]

This is honestly one of the best YT channels in existence

[@Registered_Simp]

That F-117 shootdown has allot more nuance to it than described. The reason the radars were so often moved around was not to counter stealth, but to prevent themselves from being slapped around by Anti-Radiation missiles like the AGM-88. The Serbs had people watching the runway where F-117's were based, and reporting what aircraft were taking off. That night, the F-117's had no EW or fighter support, and were the only ones in the air. The Serbian air defenders knew ahead of time that only the F-117's would be up, and left their radars on (Something which would be a death sentence any other night). The first two times the commander of the battery which shot down that F-117 turned on his radar, he saw sweet fuck all. The F-117 was only picked up when it opened its bomb bay doors, and the first missile didn't even hit, having been guided in Low-Frequency mode (Less accurate) to have a better chance of picking up the F-117 at all. The shootdown was a result of equal part complacency on the US's part, and very high luck on the Serbs part.

[@andreipiv]

The f-117 had some flaws with its design mostly because all stealth scenarios couldn't be simulated at the time but those flaws were hard to exploit, which americans let the serbs do through the formers laziness/ poor planning

[@Registered_Simp]

@@andreipiv Yep. That and allot of luck. ALLOT of luck

[@dillan6134]

💯 not to mention, he said the US made no attempt to destroy the wreckage. There’s a few dead Chinese guys from a bombed out embassy that would claim otherwise…

[@marko.rankovic]

@@andreipiv It's not the fault of the Serbs that the Americans still left their design exposed, the Serbs did what they were supposed to do which was to wait for the plane to be detected and then shoot the invader down.

[@Werepie]

Honestly, It's a pretty incredible success on the Serbian side of that conflict. Having the correct intelligence apparatus in place to map out previous US flight paths and keeping the airfield under surveillance to understand what threats we were going to be throwing at them Equally a massive failure on the US side to rely entirely on stealth without support, electronic or otherwise as well as poor mission planning that allowed patterns to be found.

[@j4s0n39]

0:19 Those are laser guided bombs, not GPS guided missiles. The Nighthawk never carried missiles; it was a very light bomber.

[@23davidian96]

The word 'Bomb' is sensored

[@demonicrgc]

how do you know silly man

[@j4s0n39]

@@demonicrgc I don't know silly man. Is silly man a friend of yours?

[@billallen3696]

@@j4s0n39 More like a mirror reflection.

[@redsnowleopard]

Another thing to note about the circumstances around Serbia shooting an F-117 down is (iirc) that originally, that plane would be escorted by electronic warfare aircraft. But due to poor weather, those escorts returned to base early.

[@Our-Creator-Loves-Us]

The video is really proof that we have a Creator.❤️ Everything you saw in the video (the jet, the clouds; the ground) are made of things called “atoms”! And these are amazing than you think: Atoms are so small, millions could fit on the period at the end of this comment! -> . Everything around you, from your hand to the whole universe, are made of 100+ different types of atoms! And guess what? The screen you’re using to read this KZbin comment is also made from 100+ different types of atoms - that’s around trillions of trillions (more than you can imagine) of atoms! We really live in a detailed world.🌌 A world that did not exist by accident, but invented!

[@deeann8923]

Yes, that is my understanding. But, the curious thing is that if the weather was bad enough that the escort craft didn’t factor in, then why wasn’t the 117 mission scrubbed?

[@AugmentedGravity]

Still to this day one of the single coolest pieces of technology humanity has ever created. The look of the Nighthawk is just legendary.

[@xOT-YT]

The nighthawk pilot that was shot down, and the SAM operator in Serbia later connected and became best friends.

[@davidfalterman8713]

My dad likes to tell a story about when he was first stationed at Randolph AFB in the early 90s. Apparently he and his CO were walking around the base, and they kept hearing soft thumps coming from the hangar with the 117s. Upon investigation, they found several unconscious bats along the floor. It seems the fighters disorient the bats’ echolocation systems and they end up slamming against the walls. They eventually had to relocate the bats and set up anti-bat deterrents to stop any more from moving in.

[@michaelpipkin9942]

Okay. That's a very original and creative story. You gotta email Myth Busters or something, damn it!!! Get everybody/everything out of retirement for this one.

[@kyleizbicky3099]

See comment on Ben Rich’s book “Skunk Works”. He talks about this in the book and how they didn’t have any data outside of test environments that the stealth technology would work. I’m sure the pilots were reassured when they saw the bats

[@nicholasklangos9704]

Another crew chief myth...

[@gsdtdeaux7]

Now thats a cool story if it really happened.

[@donaldewing7405]

My spidey sense tells me the USAF would have been more concerned with bats damaging the aircraft than bats dying inside a hangar. Expensive bat eliminator..

[@Hydrargyrum8]

Just made dinner, just opened KZbin and Real Engineering just uploaded a video on the nighthawk.

[@Saturncastle]

Same lmaooo, what a coincidence.

[@HXXIIA]

Same! Except it's a late breakfast 😊

[@karigori6415]

We eating good!

[@MrLych]

Same bro (I ate it already lol)

[@draroking]

I made KZbin, opened Night Hawk and dinner uploaded a video on Real Engineering

[@thegunslinger1363]

During Desert Storm. The Saudis nicknamed them "ghosts." If you haven't already. I highly recommend the book Skunk Works by Ben H. Rich.

[@herbertkeithmiller]

And I believe it is alshabah in Arabic which just sounds really cool and is a great nickname.

[@gdmonks1959]

I was based at Khamis Mushayt airbase with a RSAF tornado ids squadron with the F117’s based there, we used to watch them taxi out and take off on there missions every night when darkness fell and we had a few visits down the the HAS site to have a look around them In the local town the photo shops were full of pictures of them in the shop windows they weren’t a secret in the town

[@Our-Creator-Loves-Us]

The video is really proof that we have a Creator.❤️ Everything you saw in the video (the jet, the clouds; the ground) are made of things called “atoms”! And these are amazing than you think: Atoms are so small, millions could fit on the period at the end of this comment! -> . Everything around you, from your hand to the whole universe, are made of 100+ different types of atoms! And guess what? The screen you’re using to read this KZbin comment is also made from 100+ different types of atoms - that’s around trillions of trillions (more than you can imagine) of atoms! We really live in a detailed world.🌌 A world that did not exist by accident, but invented!

[@perfectcell1157]

​@@herbertkeithmillerindeed in arabic we always call these slick looking stealthy planes "Shabah"

[@rstone286]

That’s a superb book, read it years ago. Glad I wasn’t alone! 😂

[@gannethackett9323]

Insane how advanced this is, so much more engineering went into this than the F-22. Every angle was calculated. The mesh on the engine intakes, and the wiper for it is crazy too.

[@dylanhowell7781]

Probably because the F22 can fight back, is supersonic, doesn’t have to fly low and probably piggy backed off of a lot of the engineering done on other stealth planes. But I’m just guessing so I don’t actually know 🤷🏻‍♂️😂

[@SimonBauer7]

​@@dylanhowell7781and also the f22 is more modern, so better simulations are available

[@ephemispriest8069]

Absolutely breathtaking visuals in this episode.

[@velocitypilot1]

The first commander of the F-117 squadron is one of my closest friends. His call sign was Bandit 150. He flew 19 missions over Baghdad. During the first 2 or 3 days, the F-117 pilots were very nervous because no one knew how well the plane's stealth would work in a highly-defended area like Baghdad. Twice in the first few days my friend was within visual range of a MiG-29 during his mission. On the second encounter a day or 2 later the MiG was so close he could see its pilot's head turning to try to find the F-117's, but the pilot never saw him. I told him "I bet the pucker factor was very high." He replied "John, the pucker factor was so high they couldn't have pulled a greased sewing needle out of my ass with a tractor!" I'll never forget that line.

[@jeffreymoore5762]

Bandit-150 was Wing Commander Al Whitley. He was a great combat commander, and I keep in touch with him still (but not as much as I should).

[@bobber117]

As always, fantastic video. Just gotta point out in the opening scene those are laser guided bombs, which is actually what it carried in the gulf war, so the animation is correct.

[@seahorse9434]

The Lockheed engineers were confused at first as to why they were finding dead bats around the aircraft whenever it was parked outside. Only to realise that their design was so effective that the bats couldn't see it with echo-location.....

[@vincentschulz9355]

I guess it's just 2 different sources of waves. So maybe it doesn't matter. But a source would be nice

[@Ryan-ob7yt]

@@mnxs theres actually a story about this! Bats use sonar which very basically almost works like radar as you need your input to bounce back at you so one time some dude at lockheed tried to take a photo of the aircraft with a camera that used sonar to focus and he couldn't cause it kept on coming back blurry and that what gave him the idea for stealth submarines! I'm pretty sure sonar stealth submarines never actually happened past some tests but still a really cool story

[@ericw.1620]

​@@Ryan-ob7yt"stealth submarines never happened..." - that we know of

[@Ryan-ob7yt]

@@ericw.1620 hah yeah ig that depends on how stealthy they were

[@user-mn2mw1og8u]

​@@Ryan-ob7ytall modern subs are relatively stealthy vs sonar, but like stealth aircraft, the anaerobic coating only really works at longer ranges.

[@kukems]

Thanks!

[@timandshannon03]

The coolest fact that I love is that while testing the design they mounted a full size mock up on a pole to see if Radar could see it. Radar did see it and it confused the engineers because mathematically it shouldn't be seen as big as it was, and then the figured out that the radar return that they were seeing wasn't the F-117, it was the pole it was mounted on!

[@MrGluGlu]

23:15 wanted to add that the commander of the SAM system later claimed that they were only able to get a lock when the F117’s bomb bay doors opened which briefly created a bigger radar cross section.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

He changed his story multiple times. The fact is that the S-125 was in a site location presumed empty so planners put an egress route there. The F-117 basically nearly entered the S-125 minimum engagement distance. Point blank shot. There were no fancy tactics or trickery involved. Just physics. Stealth works with the inverse square law. Take out the distance, stealth aircraft become detectable.

[@MrGluGlu]

@@ChucksSEADnDEAD yeah, not surprised. Realistically how would he even know that the bomb bay doors were open?

[@xiphosura413]

@@MrGluGlu Pure luck, I doubt he was waiting for it to start its run, just got lucky with turning the search radar back on. It certainly would help out a SAM site immensely in gaining a lock, even at close range.

[@SpydersByte]

@@MrGluGlu luck? no one has said they KNEW the bomb bay doors were open, just that that's how it happened. I mean if the AA missile batteries were there then the targets were probably very close so there's a decent chance the doors would be opening over that area. Everyone is saying it was the 3rd radar sweep when that time happened to align, its not like they knew when the doors were opening ahead of time and targetted it at that moment.

[@deeann8923]

@@MrGluGlu They wouldn’t know that the doors were open. All they would know is that a blip showed up. Lockheed put a lot of effort into speeding up the drop sequence. Once the pilot initiates the sequence, everything is automated after that. From doors open to doors closed was less than 10 seconds but it likely that it was faster than that as development continued.

[@jadegecko]

Loved this plane since it came out. The inlet wipers and the asymmetric thrust were new to me!

[@Dudi4PoLFr]

Genuinely my favorite plane of all time, with no dog fighting or even combat capacity only surgical precision strikes while being almost invisible.

same!

[@Neeoooo]

Video production at the highest quality. The CGI of the plane and the documents presentation like lying on the table is quite realistic.

[@christianrogers5674]

The most fascinating thing to me about the F-117s design is that because of its faceted shape the radar cross section is independent of its size. You could scale it up to the size of an aircraft carrier, and as long it maintained the same shape to scale, it would still appear as small on radar as the aircraft does!

[@nirbhay_raghav]

F-117 now looks like it is not yet fully rendered. Absolute beauty.

[@SpydersByte]

lol must still be too far away, LOD hasnt kicked in yet :P

[@awesome_by_default]

@@SpydersByte This game is really unoptimized. That texture pop in is awful.

[@Hi-Im-RubX]

I may be mistaken. But I think it's JDAM or GBU's shown at ca. 00:18. And not missiles. Anywwho.. Great video, thanks

[@OliverMiles98]

The animation looks like Paveway II (UK), which is essentially a GBU-10 Paveway II, but with a Mk 13 1000-lb GPB instead of a 2000-lb Mk 84 or BLU-109. The Nighthawk would've used either the GBU-10 or -12 Paveway II or the GBU-27 Paveway III in Desert Storm, JDAM wasn't operational until late 1998.

[@doktork3406]

It's engagement bait :))) For people to comment and make the video comment count go up

[@biIIybob858]

@@doktork3406lie, he made a comment that he pinned and got too much backlash so he deleted it lol

[@Eclipse_102]

@@doktork3406 you're very good at copy and pasting the same comment over and over again.

[@paprikar]

15:25 Just want to make it clear that this point is more about negative aerodynamic features rather than poor lift. Airfoil is more (almost entirely) about NOT worsening aerodynamics. The lift force is almost entirely created by the angle of attack. This is probably the most common misconception in aviation.

[@ss4austin]

I finally met one in person a few months ago at the SAC Museum here in Nebraska. It’s was so awesome, even in the stage of restoration it was in.

[@MikeHarris1984]

This is by far my favorite engineer channel..... I can't watch your videos enough. And the quality of information and graphics showing the science and explaining complex systems and subjects in an easy to understand graphic is insanely good!

[@Eric-ue5mm]

23:20 the random assortment of clips is WILD, we got movie props, rocket artillery etc pp LMAO

[@McHox]

"missiles"... guided bombs. it carried jdams, paveways(just normal dumb mk82/mk84 bombs upgraded with gps and laser guidance kits respectively) or b61 nukes. it never carried any missiles

[@luckystriker7489]

A missile is: "an object (such as a weapon) thrown or projected usually so as to strike something at a distance" - this according to Merriam-Webster, an American dictionary. It may not be militarily correct, but it grammatically correct.

[@_Addi_]

@@luckystriker7489 Look at the second definition. Also, that is not the correct use of "grammatically correct".

[@teeteetuu94]

@@luckystriker7489 Look at the context here (i.e. modern military equipment). That "ancient" definition wouldn't have sufficed, as 'missiles' would've included many other types of dumb weapons.

[@Sacto1654]

But yet, there is no official record of the F-117A being upgraded to carry the B61 nuclear bomb. Reason: to prevent accidental detonation, modern free-fall nuclear bombs like the B61 and B83 have extremely complicated fusing systems with a lot of security locks, and that would require the installation of specialized electronics to arm and drop the B61. Interestingly, the Soviets from 1983 on really feared this type of plane, because on a one-way mission it could fly from western Europe all the way to Moscow effectively undetected until the nuclear weapon was dropped, which meant the response time of the air defense system around Moscow would have been just about zero.

[@Ryan-ob7yt]

the gbu-12 is not a JDAM if you're gonna correct someone please get it correct! plus the video is about the plane not the weapon the guy just didn't want to research weapons

[@lonesome3958]

Before the serbs come in, Ill write the mandatory paragraph considering the 1999 yugoslavia incident. Yes, a F117 was shot down, but the reason it was shot down because the Americans were kinda stupid and made multiple mistakes. The first, crucial mistake, is that they never changed flight path, which meant that you could predict the Nighthawk's location pretty accurately without even using radar. The second, and equally stupid, reason was that when this aircraft was shot down, its bomb bay doors were wide open, ruining the radar cross section. The third reason was that, unlike most nights, there were no seed planes around to protect the aircraft The yugoslavian army noticed all of this, and in a hail mary attempt to down it, sent a shit ton of rockets with pretty rough directions over a 8 mile radius, and a single "golden shot" downed the aircraft. It didnt hit, but the shrapnel nearby was enough to damage the (way too fragile if I may add) F117, and down it. The incident isnt a proof of yugoslav military superiority or proof of the F117 being a "shitbox" or whatever I've seen it being called. Its a testament to the US army's stupidity and the fact that sometimes, miracles do in fact happen. Im tired of this fact being repeated over and over again without proper context. And even with all this context, 1200+ Mission carried out by 59 aircraft over the course of 25 years (1983-2008) is pretty damn impressive.

[@cum3173]

This is true but just pointing out that the bomb bay doors were open for less than a second, making the shoot down even more unlikely.

[@assimilationsynthesizer]

Yet they'll probably ignore this constructive text and brag about it anyways...

[@lukalicina8230]

Cope harder lol, doesn't change the facts hahahaha. You guys never entered by foot just bombing targets w/ many civilian casualties. Neocolonialism at its finest, still to this day you cause wars and keep the US military industry and the warmachine country running.

[@milankolarski8876]

Is it shut down and put out of production? So, stop trying to make an effort to justify someone's stupidity.

[@MarcinCh01]

@@milankolarski8876 He's adding some context, to stop s*rb disinfo.

[@danieljames500]

dude these animations are insane!! better than a lot of big budget documentaries

[@llamaforce2833]

Just wanted to mention how top tier the animation of this video is. Better than most things I've seen.

[@SlimViMa]

One of the coolest storiest to me was that while nighthawks were stationed in the middle east, ground crews would often find dead bats next to the tails of the planes in the morning since the bats wouldn't "see" them with their sonar and just flew into the thin tails during the night.

[@thekinginyellow1744]

I find this difficult to believe. Sound deadening is a completely unrelated topic to stealth.

[@Gemm6905]

23:35 Actually, the real reason they were able to shoot down the plane was because they kept flying the exact same route for weeks, which means people were simply able to see the thing.

[@timonsolus]

Even then, the SA-3 radar was only able to lock on to the F-117 after it opened its bomb bay doors. The SA-3 missile hit the F-117 immediately after it dropped its bombs.

[@MaxAalbers-xy2xq]

IIRC it was also because the F-117 entered the SA-3s minimum engagement range

[@Gemm6905]

@@MaxAalbers-xy2xq Other way around. Because they kept using the same flight route, the Yugoslavian army was able to place the radar and missile in it's path.

[@bhaashatepe5234]

@@Gemm6905 The F 'Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible' 117 that was detected by then a 30year old Soviet radar. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@l.a.kuzmer2662]

​@@bhaashatepe5234Shut up bot

[@andrebuzeli111]

Those animations are going Hollywood level

[@fureversalty]

I love all the renders and animations, each and every one is extremely pleasing to look at.

[@Eclipse_102]

Thank you for making the correction on Nebula (I know youtube doesn't allow you to replace videos) regarding the bombs. I was a 2W1X1 (Armament Systems Technician) in the Air Force. I love the work you've done over the years and subscribed to Nebula due to you. I've been here since the vlogbrother's grant days. It's been a joy seeing your work expand and your channel grow! Regarding the graphics on this videos bombs, I wanted to tell you that the USAF only puts a blue band on inert training munitions. In the intro example, you would want to use a yellow (high explosive) band. Your willingness to make corrections (where they are reasonable and sound) gives me great respect for you and your team! Thanks again for all the great work over the years!

[@llahneb10]

Excellent production!

[@TheSnowMan-cy9tu]

"Without losing a single aircraft." Well, one was shot down in Yugoslavia by a S-125 Neva/Pechora surface to air missle system. This was the first case of an American stealth aircraft being shot down. The S-125 was considered to be obselete and was a real shock that it was capable of shooting down a nighthawk consisdring the S-125 went into service back in the early 1960s. Edit: Ah they mentioned the aircraft that was shot down later in the video, my bad. Still though it an interesting story that mist people dont know about. The story of rescuing the pilot by Air Force PJs, and hunting the crashed olane down by US Special Forces is also very interesting and worth looking into. They couldnt allow the enemy to get their hands on this advanced technology and I beleive the special forces that found the plane ended up blowing the crashed plane up.

[@deeann8923]

No. They left the plane as it was felt that by that point, the technology was known by others and there was no point in trying to get it back. However, as I understand, there may be more to the story. Some of the wreckage was thought to be housed in the Chinese Embassy building in Belgrade. A bombing attack was carried out on the building, but US and UK officials said that the attack was not deliberate. It was intended for a nearby building and the Embassy was hit by mistake. As Mulder said: “The Truth Is Out There…”

[@Wolffzahn]

At 4:52 ist the Jonathan Reed UFO…WTF???

[@thomasd7504]

I just saw that too. Fking bone chilling, this is a smoking gun.

[@seanwhitehall4652]

The way you tie in military arms race is 2nd to none. Info is great, amazing that this can be watched for free. I have nebula, it's worth it.

[@taitai4993]

is a true master piece

[@BlackBolt-d3i]

Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.

[@coffecrazy]

It’s invincible, the armour is sloped

[@TheGreatCd]

Wait... how does that work?

[@slothymango]

​@@TheGreatCd secret service can't stand on it

[@TheGreatCd]

@@slothymango planes don't really have thick armoured plates on them I think well most don't so I don't think the slope matters

[@slothymango]

@@TheGreatCd yeah I know. The slope doesn't make it invincible at all, I was just talking about the secret service making the sloped roof claim a while ago

[@TheGreatCd]

@@slothymango they said that?😅

[@ashesgaming9740]

I never normally watch any military videos but this guy just makes it so fun and interesting to watch. I just came from the video where they shot this plane down

[@goltzhar]

Missiles ...not a bomb. Bomb... not a missile...

[@TNTorge]

@@jamesjross to my knowledge the F-117 can only carry paveway II and IIIs and later JDAM. yes there was a rocket powered version of the paveway (AGM-123) but as far as i (and wikipedia for that matter) know the f-117 did not carry those. and even those are conciderd "rocket assisted bombs" not missiles. conclusion: some artistic liberty was taken by real engineering

[@alexander1485]

editor messed up

[@TheBear710]

@@TNTorge No the Skippers are considered AGM not rocket assisted bombs... AGM-123 Skipper II is a short-range laser-guided missile developed by the United States Navy. The Skipper was intended as an anti-ship weapon, capable of disabling the largest vessels with a 1,000-lb impact-fuzed warhead.

[@somedude2492]

​​@@petrilofberg1758from Oxford Languages, "an object which is forcibly propelled at a target, either by hand or from a mechanical weapon." So unless you count gravity as forcibly propelling a bomb then they don't really count as missiles... All missiles are bombs though, it does work the other way around as a bomb is simply a container filled with explosive or incendiary material.

[@goltzhar]

@@petrilofberg1758 Oh For F sake... "Bombs differ from artillery shells, missiles, and torpedoes in that the latter are all propelled through the air or water by a human-made agency, while bombs travel to their targets through the force of gravity alone."

[@anthonyfrench3169]

This was one of the rare cards to get in the Desert Storm trading cards.

[@the_fat_hans7755]

Naw you just unlocked a long lost memory for me. That game was lit

[@anthonyfrench3169]

@the_fat_hans7755 I know, this video did the same for me too. But yeah man that was old school legit!

[@TheAlchemicalPortal]

The Diamond UFO , the smoking gun is smoking hard atm

[@PoHsuanLiao]

謝謝！

[@RBDelorme]

Great video, I have read Ben Rich's book Skunk Works and yet I learned a few new things about the F-117. One interesting bit you left out is that the shape was so unstable it required computers to stabilize all 3 axis of motion, compared to only 1 axis for the F-16. Oh, and that on radar it had the same profile as a 1/4" ball bearing.

[@TheKnaeckebrot]

0:18 it bothers me more than it should that he said 'Missiles' & depicted the GBUs with trails 😢

[@tejas1205]

Also, they are laser guided, not GPS guided (edited the comment due to incorrect grammar)

[@nikolaideianov5092]

​@@tejas1205the animation is correct Aperantly laser guided bombs were used

[@SuperCatacata]

The amount of people on the spectrum using this to completely discredit all the hard work put into this vid is insane... Yes, it's a mistake. But way too many of you are letting this ruin a really high quality video.

[@nikolaideianov5092]

@@SuperCatacata i havent seen anyone trying to discredit the video for one mistake What people are doing is pointing it out

[@OliverMiles98]

​@@SuperCatacata You don't have to be autistic to be able to point out errors that should've been trivial to get right with barely a few minutes of googling.

[@setojurai]

Um... the F117 wasn't shot down because radar could see it if it flew over, it was shot down because of an extremely lucky radar ping while the bomb bay doors were open. And that still took multiple SAM launches. The idea that low frequency radar can beat stealth is Russian sales propaganda.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

The bomb bay explanation makes no sense. It would have to be stuck open as the aircraft was on egress route. The fact is that stealth works through inverse square law, so if you reduce distance stealth stops working. The F-117 almost flew into the S-125 minimum engagement distance. It was a near point blank shot. Physics itself mandates that a stealth aircraft is detectable at extremely short ranges.

[@setojurai]

@@ChucksSEADnDEAD Basically the radar system was turned on in high power mode and managed to catch the bomb bay door being open JUST as it was opening and they launched on that vector. It was the ONLY time the F117 was EVER shot down and it was sheer luck. And russia has been using that to sell an outdated anti-air system ever since. It's literally russian sales propaganda to say that system can beat Stealth AT ALL.

[@setojurai]

@@ChucksSEADnDEAD also given how the stealth systems WORK in the F117, "the inverse square law" would mean that the F117 would have to be parked on top of the radar system that was set in low power mode for it to detect the F117 was there. Stealth works by scattering or absorbing radar waves. it's not a magic shield that works off inverse square laws. Skunkworks did a LOT of tests on Haveblue and got returns the size of a quarter off the aircraft even at very close ranges. Flying into its minimum engagement range makes no sense for it to just beat stealth at that point. So I have no idea how you think this is an "inverse square law" when the radar waves are NOT returning to the transmission point. How do you get better returns off the emissions when they're not coming back? How do you inverse square that?

[@sethb3090]

​​@@setojuraiit's not about low power, it's about low frequency. Low frequency radars can pick up resonances from parts of stealth planes, and can be used to track them in some cases. The tradeoff is that low frequency radars don't have the information density for high resolution. In other words, a low frequency radar can track a stealth plane in some cases, but can't lock a missile on. You need a high frequency radar to get a missile lock, and those are what most stealth aircraft are built to beat (except the B-2, which doesn't need to make concessions to fighter maneuverability and is built to beat everything).

[@setojurai]

@@sethb3090 Thank you for the expansion on that. That's good info. And yeah, he still had to operate the radar in high frequency mode (I used the word power for some weird reason but yes you're right) to get a missile lock. Which he did. Off an open bomb bay door. Which was only open for a few seconds at a time. Dude got seriously lucky and Russia has used that ever since to sell their inferior systems. And a disturbing amount of people think that the radar legitimately can beat stealth systems.

[@acompletelynormalhuman6392]

23:13 that was also because of several failures on the Americans part the f117 was flying the same path other have flown before meaning the enamy knew where it was going and when it would arrive it wasn't acopened by electric warfare aircraft like other flights at the time the lack of ew aircraft (which the enemy knew of because they had spys nearby the base the f117 took off) caused the radar operators to break their own rules of never turning on the radar more than twice before moving the same because they knew there were no anti radiation missile equipped aircraft in the sky. When they did use the radar for the third time it was the exact moment the f117 open it's bomb bay the same fired two missiles the first one missed completely the second one hit

[@Rocketes683]

Your videos are so well made and very easy to understand, The best engineering channel out there 👍

[@37splat]

Amazing video, very well researched and beautifully animated. One small note: The bombs shown during the opening sequence had a blue stripe towards the nose. This would indicate an inert weapon. Live weapons have a yellow marking on the high explosive portion. Still an amazing video, hats off.

[@Bot-iv7io]

1:20 there has been one f-117 shot down that I know of

[@clebimtane]

it’s only been one out of the whole time it’s been in service

[@JoAuJan]

There has only been one shot down

[@oxide9679]

Yeah, the Serbs shot it down, but they used the S-125 missile, which is radio command guidance and not radar guidance. They only shot it down because the stars aligned perfectly. 1) All F-117s flew the exact same air corridor at the exact same time every day, making them extremely predictable. 2) The Serbian radar site broke protocol by activating their radar a 4th time in a row without moving position, which happened to be at the same time the F-117 had its bomb bay door open, which greatly increased it's radar signature. 3) the S-125's radio command guidance system is Semi-automatic Command Line of Sight. This requires the missile operator to manually maintain a lock and track on the target while the missile automatically guides itself toward the manually tracked target. The increased radar signature made it easy for the missile operator to find and lock-track the F-117, ultimately shooting it down. If any one of these variables hasn't existed, the shoot down wouldn't have occured.

[@clebimtane]

@@oxide9679 i love people like you

[@jager8148]

He was talking about the Gulf War, where no nighthawks were shot down.

[@Bokaj01]

F-117 blueprint: 200 triangles

[@Just.A.T-Rex]

Why does Ben rich have a model craft of the object seen from the 1996 Reed ufo case/picture? Strange

[@Michael_H_Nielsen]

wow. fantastic documentary with great visuals

[@charlesshieler6459]

Any chance we can get a f22 video, this by far my favorite content!!

[@nikolaideianov5092]

0:19 these are paveway laser guided bombs

[@nikolaideianov5092]

@@jamesjross the fuck?

[@doktork3406]

It's engagement bait :))) For people to comment and make the video comment count go up

[@usmanzubair3479]

4:51 it was a Russian guy who first wrote these equations.

[@pjm760]

People think Americans brought the stealth technology 😂

[@usmanzubair3479]

@pjm760 lol 😂

[@ShadowOppsRC]

Yep. He created equations for calculating a shapes return.

[@austinraymer382]

Who else thinks the next insane engineering video will be on the B-2 or the F-22?

[@leveler74R]

I would love to see ‘The Insane Engineering of the B1 Lancer (B-O-N-E)

[@elina35462]

It can't be the F22. There's still not enough information available for this I would love to see a B2 video though

[@austinraymer382]

@@elina35462 fair point

[@austinraymer382]

@@leveler74R YES

[@Cube-3710]

We Need An Insane Engineering Episode Of F-18 And How It Became The Best 4th Gen Multirole Fighter!

[@clannishkobra8965]

Used to work in a aerospace company but they had a large lay-off due to reduced govt. funding. For a while while working my current job I thought all hope was lost for me to get back into the career/industry that I fell in love with. Thanks to your videos it's brought back that drive and yearning to go out there and work my way back in. Thank you!

[@ethanfalls4821]

I love the F-117

[@luissamour2182]

Just got on break at McDonald's, I see Real Engineering uploaded, and I'm getting paid soon. Thanks for making today great

[@helpthebirdsarekeepingmeho4368]

Hey you guys get McDonald's themed item's as gifts too?

[@luissamour2182]

@@helpthebirdsarekeepingmeho4368 Wdym by getting gifts?

[@ashtoncasedy3237]

How do you actually get a job at McD's?

[@luissamour2182]

​@@ashtoncasedy3237You can apply

[@bigboots6114]

in serbia, the F-117 bomb doors remained opened which cause the stealth to go away

[@jordenx3600]

Both the visuals and the information is of such high quality. Thank you for your time and effort that goes in to making these videos!

[@aWitty]

As an Engineer, it's hard to find interesting vids where I'll actually learn something, but this channel has it.

[@vladrishmirovszedankloevic6500]

Serbs with their 1960s SAM: "sorry, we didn't know it was invisible"

[@bennittotheburrito9606]

belgrade be like: 🏢🔥🔥🏢🔥🔥🏢

[@evan_vangelisskoupras3085]

@@bennittotheburrito9606 Sure they overhype their success as if the F-117 was a cloaked Klingon Warbird(which if it was one would be needed to turn them all to dust), but cut the guys some slack; they grew up in one of the strongest countries in the former USSR state like 45 million strong in populace. Then their country was bombed to oblivion and torn to pieces, by what they were told was an unfair enemy(and try to remember they come from the former USSR world where Americans where blamed for everything). From being the prime cirizen, they became a former country that was divided in what is it now? Ten pieces? Seemingly everyone there has their own country. The're reduced to about 6 million populace overall. Their sports teams which where great at the time, where excluded from world athletic events for years. They had nothing to clinch on to be proud. And Serbs are very proud people. If that's their daydreaming to keep their pride on, let them. What is it for you(if you're American)? You gotten your way, and your end goal. Let them have what makes their day more bearable for them. If anything, asked to get any product in the world and living in any country, despite what they say out of pride, which ones do you thing they'll select(I mean for putter's shake, even the Russians make that selection - and they're currently practically at war with the USA).

[@milandjukic4583]

@@bennittotheburrito9606la and nyc be like 🔥🔥

[@aland7236]

There is no fallout from an air burst nuclear weapon. Fallout comes from dirt and other debris from the ground being lofted into the sky by a rising mushroom cloud.

[@falkenlaser]

What’s crazy is no other country has been able to produce a plane as stealthy as the F-117 at scale, despite it being 40+ years old technology.

[@rubbernuke1234]

Its more about budgets and money really since the US military has almost unlimited funds- and being fair many 'early' stealth aircraft are really batch produced (64 F117s, low numbers of F22s & B2s- its only second gen thats getting the numbers). No other country could afford to develop something that could have been a dead end. Its second generation stealth thats become affordable allowing any nation to make a true mass produced stealth aircraft- including the US.

[@xiphosura413]

You saw the level of compromises required to achieve the stealth performance it had, modern stealth aircraft are far, far more capable and still stealthy enough; it is no longer top priority because it doesn't need to be. If they set their mind to it, pretty much any modern air force would be able to field an aircraft way stealthier than the F-117 was, but the question is why bother if it would so heavily cripple other aspects?

[@bhaashatepe5234]

The F 'Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible' 117 that was detected by then a 30year old Soviet radar. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bhaashatepe5234]

@@rubbernuke1234 🤣🤣🤣🤣 the coping mechanism of the fan boys of the US imperialism is unbelievable. they even defended the illegal actions conducted by the US and its puppets through military actions in sovereign countries such as Iraq, Serbia, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, etc, The F 'Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible' 117 that was detected by then a 30year old Soviet radar. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@l.a.kuzmer2662]

​@@bhaashatepe5234Bot please shut up

[@MarcusWolfWanders]

This plane made my shortlist for childhood favorites. It's always wonderful to learn more about the planes I've revered for as long as I can remember!

[@milosmitrovic3239]

Thank you for quickly pointing out that strategy was the key for downing F117, instead of ridiculous myths (open bomb bay, lucky shot, known pathway, espionage etc) that circle since 1999.

[@Happy-xi9hl]

Not him adding a rocket motor to a bomb and calling it a missile.

[@elorock6747]

Well, funnily enough the navy did exactly that with the AGM-123, which was a GBU-16 with a rocket motor bolted to it. The F-117 never carried it of course.

[@luckystriker7489]

A missile is: "an object (such as a weapon) thrown or projected usually so as to strike something at a distance" - this according to Merriam-Webster, an American dictionary. It may not be militarily correct, but it grammatically correct.

[@abhishekrao1525]

@@luckystriker7489 we can argue semantics all day long, but if you're going to make a video about a military aircraft, military terms should take precedence. Bomb & Missile are classed and employed differently within the US military, so it's important to not use the two words interchangeably.

[@luckystriker7489]

@@abhishekrao1525 We can indeed argue semantics all day. Like for instance a rocket, in military terms is unguided self-propelled, but a rocket according to NASA is indeed guided. SpaceX's Starship is not a missile, it's a rocket. A bomb in the English language is an explosive device regardless if it is placed, dropped, hurled. shot or yeeted. The F-117 most definitely yeeted a bomb which makes it a missile.

[@abhishekrao1525]

@@luckystriker7489 Sure, you're technically correct and you can use both of those words interchangeably all you want when not talking about a military aircraft. But it's inaccurate and irresponsible when talking about a military aircraft and using other military terms. The DoD uses bombs and missiles differently for a reason. I'm guessing you've never served in any military, much less an aviation combat squadron. I have. I'm coming at this from personal experience with existing maintenance and usage procedures.

[@the_christopher]

Respectfully, as a fan and nebula supporter, as well as a multi-domain engineer in the industry: The errors really put a bad taste in my mouth. Terminology and details matter. To customers, to the engineers, and even to the hobbyists. I've noticed it more on the defense-related episodes, which now makes me wonder if there are mistakes in fields I'm not as familiar with - like civilian aerospace. Youre doing great work by bringing this content to a broader audience, but i think you and your team do a disservice by not doing your due diligence when other contemporaries like Mustard haven't pulled anything egregious like this.

[@rick7424]

Precisely. Such obvious errors undermine our trust in their expertise. They must maintain a minimum standard when it comes to their research or all their videos become less trustworthy/reliable.

[@strattus99]

Please elaborate on these mistakes

[@ChildEater84874]

nighthawk tuah

[@aceman67]

In 1993, I saw one of these fly over head at the Edmonton Airshow. You literally didn't hear it coming until it was just about to pass over you. The engineers did their job really well.

[@PatrickScott-r1z]

That whole $300 subscription ad at the end was mindblowing. Who's gonna pay $300 when you can find most of that content online for free.

[@sukhrigill7871]

Its only a matter of time until Serbians find their way to this video and start commenting on how they shot one down

[@alexanderd6793]

There's literally a guy right under you for me that posted some of that shit lmao

[@nekdonikde5317]

With its bomb-bay open (for 30 seconds of the whole mission) and therefore the stealth profile ruined. But that makes the story less impresssive so they somehow forget about that part of the story

[@somelokyguy6466]

@@nekdonikde5317 Worse... They were flying known routes every single night, allowing the AA battery to position itself perfectly and there were no anti-radiation escorts to cover for them that night, unlike most nights.

[@nekdonikde5317]

@@somelokyguy6466 yeah I know. But didn't want to make the comment too long

[@bhaashatepe5234]

​@@alexanderd6793🤣🤣🤣🤣 the coping mechanism of the fan boys of the US imperialism is unbelievable. they even defended the illegal actions conducted by the US and its puppets through military actions in sovereign countries such as Iraq, Serbia, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, etc, The F 'Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible' 117 that was detected by then a 30year old Soviet radar. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@trollboy7709]

Please put insane engineering of rafale

[@mossab8209]

Why is it insane?

[@trollboy7709]

@@mossab8209 rafale is capable of shooting f22 raptor

[@nihatkarayev6336]

@@trollboy7709 When the raptor is nerfed, but both pilots fought their hardest nevertheless, and the rafale is a great piece of french engineering, so it does deserve a video.