Lockheed Have Blue

Lockheed Have Blue was the code name for Lockheed's demonstrator that preceded the F-117 Nighthawk production stealth aircraft. Have Blue was designed by Lockheed's Skunk Works division, and tested at Groom Lake, Nevada. The Have Blue was the first fixed-wing aircraft designed from an electrical engineering perspective. The aircraft's plate-like, faceted shape was designed to deflect electromagnetic waves in directions other than that of the originating radar emitter, greatly reducing its radar cross-section. Two flyable vehicles were constructed, but both crashed during the flight-test program. In the 1970s, it became increasingly apparent to U.S. planners that, in a military confrontation with Warsaw Pact forces, NATO aircraft would quickly suffer heavy losses. This came as a result of sophisticated Soviet defense networks, which used surveillance radars and radar-guided surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery to seek and eliminate enemy aircraft. Consequently, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency started a study on low-observability aircraft, seeking to design and produce an operational stealth aircraft.