F-117 Nighthawk Memories
24 August 2015
Two months shy of twenty-seven years since it was first flown, the F-117 was retired in ceremonies on 21 April 2008 at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, where it had been operated by the 49th Fighter Wing since 1992, and then on 22 April in Palmdale, California, for the people who had designed and built it at the then-Lockheed facilities there.
U-2 Stats
11 September 2014
U-2 statistics are used at two levels. First to gauge activity across the program. Second to focus on areas requiring continuous improvements in affordability, availability, and reliability.
U-2 Life Support
8 September 2014
Every U-2 flight requires a lot of behind the scenes work. An assortment of engineers, technicians, and flight line personnel line up to support every mission. The high altitudes at which the Dragon Lady operates, however, create a unique set of responsibilities for ground support personnel. Many of these responsibilities fall on the shoulders of life support technicians.
U-2 Factoids
5 September 2014
The U-2 gathers imagery in a number of ways, including through digital imagery, radar imagery, and traditional wet-processed film. Similarly the U-2 collects signals intelligence in various frequency bands with a variety of sensors. Datalinks on the aircraft allow for immediate transmission of sensor data. The U-2 carries an electronic countermeasure system for self-defense.
U-2 Dragon Lady Today
26 August 2014
Thirty-four U-2s are flying today. Most were built in the 1980s as TR-1s though a few are U-2Rs built in the late 1960s. All of these aircraft were re-designated U-2S in 1999, with two exceptions. The two-seat trainer version, accounting for five airframes, is referred to as the TU-2S. The NASA version, accounting for two airframes derived from the U-2S, is referred to as the ER-2.
Skunk Works Celebrates 70 Years
5 September 2013
The following images represent just a snapshot of some of the Skunk Works’ leaders and aircraft that pushed, and continue to push, the envelope of aviation.
F-117 Photos
23 July 2013
Although retired in 2008, the F-117 Nighthawk would be the basis upon which subsequent stealth fighters, including the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, would be designed. As remarked during a banquet celebrating the plane’s achievements in 2008, before the F-117, the question to ask was how many aircraft were needed to take out a target. After the Nighthawk, the question was how many targets could be taken out with a single aircraft.
Skunk Works ARES
24 May 2013
The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, has a reputation for applying innovative solutions to practical problems. Getting personnel and vehicles off of roads with known threats, such as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, is one such problem. DARPA is addressing this problem in a program called ARES.
Aviation Archeology
19 December 2012
Every so often employees at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics are asked to clean house. They go through their desk drawers and file cabinets to discard old and unnecessary materials to make space for the new. This process often results in unearthing items of historical significance. This was the case in 1990 and again 2006, when concepts or advanced design drawings, reports, and other documents dating back to the 1940s and ’50s were found.
2013 Photo Calendar Finalists
6 December 2012
Early in 2012 we invited Code One readers and contributors to send us their best photos. We asked for recent, striking photographs of current Lockheed Martin aircraft to develop a “Best of Code One” theme for the 2013 edition of the calendar.