The tradition of massively painting planes black appeared during the Second World War. It was assumed that this would make it difficult for the enemy to detect at night, this applies both to night bombers and to those who were supposed to fight them - night fighters.
US Air Force bomber A-26 "Invader"
US Air Force P-61 Black Widlow night fighter
It would seem that the massive use of radar stations (radars), all-weather fighters - interceptors, anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) in the post-war period should have made such camouflage irrelevant. But nowadays "black birds" continue to fly. This is due not only to the desire to make the aircraft unobtrusive visually at night, but also to the use of special heat-resistant materials or materials that absorb radio frequency radiation.
It is noteworthy that aircraft painted in this way, as a rule, were created within the framework of "black" ie. secret programs. And are still shrouded in an aura of secrets and legends.
The Lockheed U-2 is rightfully considered such a legendary aircraft. Its designer is the no less legendary Clarence Johnson.
In 1955, the first instance of Lockheed's new reconnaissance aircraft, the Lockheed U-2, took off, designed and built in the strictest secrecy at the so-called Skunk Works. He had high flight characteristics, which ensured him the ability to fly at high altitude and with a long range, which were the result of perfect engines and a successful layout of the aircraft. The Pratt-Whitney J57 engine with a revised fuel supply system was used as the power plant, the wing of the aircraft with a large aspect ratio (like a glider) made it possible to increase the flight range.
Designed to operate at altitudes above 20 km, where detection and interception were unlikely, the U-2 was equipped with a large number of data collection devices. Reconnaissance flights over the countries of Eastern Europe began on June 20, and the first flight over the USSR was carried out on July 4, 1956.
The fact that the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was detectable and vulnerable was demonstrated on May 1, 1960, when, during a regular flight over the Soviet Union, this aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. This was the last U-2 flight over the USSR. In total, 24 reconnaissance flights of U-2 aircraft were carried out over the territory of the USSR. Nevertheless, flights in other regions continued, it was U-2 who discovered the preparation of launching positions for ballistic missiles in Cuba. Modern modifications of "U-2S" equipped with side-looking radar are still in service with the US Air Force. They are expected to be decommissioned by 2023.
Satellite image of Google Earth: U-2 at an airfield in the United Arab Emirates
It is reliably known about 7 shot down U-2. One each over the USSR and Cuba, the rest over the territory of the PRC. All of them were destroyed by Soviet-made air defense systems S-75.
A special relationship has developed with the S-75 U-2 air defense system
The vulnerability of the U-2 has forced the development of the next generation of reconnaissance aircraft. The guarantee of its "indestructibility" was to be a high speed, allowing it to evade anti-aircraft missiles and interceptors. Clarence Johnson was in charge of the development. The prototype of the A-12 aircraft, used by the CIA, the aircraft for the Air Force was named Lockheed SR -71 "Blackbird", which literally means "Blackbird".
At that time, the SR-71 was the fastest aircraft in the world - about 3300 km / h and had one of the highest ceilings with a maximum height of 28.5 km. It was originally planned to use it for reconnaissance over the territory of the Soviet Union and Cuba, however, plans had to be changed in connection with an event that occurred on May 1, 1960, when the predecessor of the Titanium Goose U-2 was shot down by a Soviet anti-aircraft missile system. The United States decided not to risk expensive aircraft and used satellites for reconnaissance in the USSR and Cuba, and sent SR-71 to the DPRK and North Vietnam.
The Blackbirds' cameras, capable of shooting within a radius of 150 km, allowed US military intelligence to photograph the coastal zone of the Kola Peninsula without violating Soviet airspace. However, once the not very agile SR-71 still went too far. On May 27, 1987 SR -71 entered Soviet airspace in the Arctic region. The command of the Soviet Air Force sent a MiG-31 fighter-interceptor to intercept.
Fighter-interceptor MiG-31
With a speed of 3000 km / h and a practical ceiling height of 20.6 km, the Soviet aircraft successfully drove the Blackbird into neutral waters. Shortly before this incident, two MiG-31 aircraft also intercepted SR -71, but this time in neutral territory. Then the American intelligence officer failed the mission and flew to the base.
Some experts believe that it was the MiG-31 that forced the Air Force to abandon the SR -71. It is difficult to say how plausible this version is, but there is reason to believe so. It could also have caused the departure of the SR-71 and the Soviet anti-aircraft missile system C-200, which could easily reach the "Blackbird" at maximum height. Of the 32 aircraft built, 12 were lost in various accidents. The Air Force stopped using the SR-71 in 1998. due to the prohibitively high operating cost. For some time, the flights continued in the interests of NASA.
Launcher SAM S-200
The next "black" aircraft in all respects was the Lockheed F-117 "Night Hawk", which made its first flight in 1981. and built in an amount of 64 copies, the very existence of which was denied for a long time. The aircraft's design is based on stealth technology. The aircraft itself is built according to the "flying wing" aerodynamic configuration with a V-shaped tail. A wing of a large sweep (67, 5 °) with a sharp leading edge, a wing profile outlined by straight lines, a faceted fuselage formed by flat trapezoidal and triangular panels are located in such a way relative to each other to reflect electromagnetic waves away from the radar enemy. The flat air intakes located above the wing on both sides of the fuselage have longitudinal partitions made of radio-absorbing materials. The aircraft does not have external suspensions, all weapons are located inside the fuselage.
It should be noted that despite such radical decisions, the designers failed to achieve the ultimate goal - to build an aircraft that is invulnerable to the enemy. First, due to the deteriorated aerodynamics, the F-117 was poorly protected from attacks by enemy fighters, if they could have detected it. Secondly, the ideas incorporated in the design could reduce visibility only to a certain limit, and also did not provide a very low RCS for radar systems in which the receiver and transmitter were separated at different points. As a result, the Soviet S-200 and S-300 anti-aircraft systems could fire at it with great chances of hitting, and the older modernized S-125, although they did not guarantee defeat, could also pose a threat. In particular, during the raids on Yugoslavia, the F-117 was shot down with the help of the C-125 complex. Low flight performance and vulnerability eventually became the reason for its removal from service in 2008.
The most expensive in the world today is the "black" Northrop B-2 "Spirit" - "Ghost".
American heavy stealth strategic bomber developed by Northrop Grumman. Designed to break through dense air defense and deliver conventional or nuclear weapons.
Satellite image of Google Earth: B-2 at Andersen airbase
To ensure stealth, stealth technologies are widely used: the aircraft is covered with radio-absorbing materials, created according to the "flying wing" aerodynamic scheme, the jet jets of the engines are screened. The exact value of the RCS for B-2 is not reported, according to various estimates, it is a value from 0, 0014 to 0, 1 m².
Total built from 1989 to 1999: 21 aircraft. Unit cost $ 2.1 billion (1997). (~ $ 10 billion in 2012 comparable prices) One of them crashed in 2008 at Andersen airbase, Guam island.
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Crashed B-2
The first case of combat use took place during the NATO operation in Yugoslavia in 1999. More than 600 precision bombs (JDAM) were dropped on the target. At the same time, the B-2 made a non-stop flight from Whiteman Air Force Base in pcs. Missouri to Kosovo and back.
In subsequent years, the B-2 was used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With refueling in the air, the B-2 made one of its longest combat missions, taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, completing a combat mission and returning to its home base.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, B-2s flew combat missions from Diego Garcia Atoll. 22 sorties were made from these positions. 27 sorties were made from Whiteman airbase. During 49 sorties, more than 300 tons of ammunition were dropped.
The duration of the sorties was over 30 hours. During one of the sorties, the B-2 remained in the air without landing for 50 hours.
March 19, 2011, during the military operation Odyssey. Dawn,”three US Air Force B-2s were lifted from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Together with two B-1B bombers from South Dakota, they were sent to Libya. During the entire operation, B-2 destroyed 45, and B-1B 105 targets, among which were weapons depots, air defense facilities, command and control posts, facilities for servicing aviation and other military equipment.
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Google Earth Satellite Image: Pumsdale Air Base Memorial
Paradoxically, the "oldest" U-2 and the most expensive V-2 are in operation today. The rest can be seen in aviation museums and airbase memorials in the United States.
