Latest news with #F-117
Economic Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Iran claims it shot down Israeli F-35 stealth fighter but can the undetectable be hit? The truth may shock you
A Lockheed Martin F-117 in flight. (Lockheed Martin website) Iran claims to have shot down three Israeli F-35I Adir fifth generation stealth jets during the ongoing combat operations. Iranian forces also say they have captured at least one of the female pilots flying what is touted as the world's most advanced fighter aircraft. Israel, on the other hand, denies losing any aircraft during the bombing run on Iran, and instead claims to have established aerial superiority over the skies of its adversary. Israel Defense Forces have been routinely releasing videos of air and missile strikes on Iranian air defence systems and missile launchers, with the claims of having destroyed at least a third of the latter, delivering a massive blow to Tehran's plans to target its enemy. But are the Iranian claims of having shot down multiple F-35I Adirs true?While the truth may take some time to come out as wartime claims and counter claims continue, what is clear that Iran did try to shoot down the Israeli jets during their bombing runs. Israel, which used the F-15, F-16 and F-35 jets to hit military and nuclear facilities in Iran, has categorically stated that none of its aircraft have been shot down, let alone its prized stealth jets. Also Read: Nuclear weapons increasing as Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Iran conflict reignites World War III fears However, American stealth combat aircraft are not immune and one was indeed brought down by a technologically less advanced adversary, and this incident happened in the last century. Another stealth jet was shot at by a surface-to-air missile and though it managed to get back to its base, the damage ensured that it was never flown again. Let's recount what happened during the civil war in the then Yugoslavia in 1999 when the United States Air Force lost a Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk stealth ground attack aircraft with serial number 82-0806 to what many considered a Soviet era obsolete surface-to-air missile system. As the civil war in the now defunct Yugoslavia raged on in the mid and late 1990s, the NATO led by the US stepped in. The US Air Force deployed its F-117A Nighthawk, the first-ever operational stealth combat jet in the world, to patrol the skies over the breaking Yugoslavia. During one such patrol on the night of March 27, 1999, a F-117A, call sign "Vega-31" and piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Darrell Patrick "Dale" Zelko was flying near Belgrade when a unit of the Yugoslavian Army under the command of Lt. Col Zoltán Dani locked on to the fighter. The unit was armed with Soviet Isayev S-125 Neva/ Pechora missile system (NATO reporting name SA-3 Goa), employing a decades old technology developed in the Col Dani employed an innovative and ingenious method to track and lock on to the F-117A by operating his radars thrice, each time only for 20 seconds. At 8:15 pm local time, Lt Col Dani's unit got lucky and was able to lock on to the F-117A when Lt Col Zelko opened the plane's internal bay to drop the bombs, increasing the stealth aircraft's radar cross section area. Also Read: Will US join Israel-Iran war after embassy hit? Iran's biggest blunder may drag America into conflict As soon as the F-117A lit up the radar, Lt Col Đorđe Aničić, the soldier responsible for firing the missiles, launched multiple projectiles at the stealth jet. The missiles with a range of 8 miles (13 kilometers) were fired in quick successions and the air defence system was operational for just 17 seconds to avoid detection by jet about about 14 miles (23 km) away from the Yugoslav air defence unit when it was locked on. As it approached the area nearer to the Soviet Isayev S-125 Neva system, the missiles already airborne locked on to the jet and went for the his debriefing following his rescue, Lt. Col. Zelko recounted that he saw two Isayev S-125 missiles streaking towards him. While the first one missed the F-117A but caused buffeting, the second one detonated. The missile's shrapnel and shockwaves resulted in the stealth jet going shoot down was also confirmed by a NATO Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker which was over Bosnia at that Col. Zelko parachuted and hid while Yugoslav soldiers fanned out to hunt him. He, however, managed to escape being captured and was ultimately rescued by a team of US Air Force combat search and rescue than a month later after the shoot down, another F-117A was on April 30, 1999, hit by the Yugoslavian air defence missile. However, this one did not fall out of the sky and hobbled back to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. But the damage suffered by the jet was extensive and the airframe was declared a total loss and never flew F-117A was retired by the US Air Force in 2008. ( Originally published on Jun 17, 2025 )
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Pentagon ‘spread Area 51 UFO rumours to cover up secret weapons programmes'
Pentagon officials spent years spreading disinformation about UFOs in an attempt to hide secret weapons programmes at Area 51, it has been claimed. By fabricating and planting 'evidence' about alien research, they unleashed persistent myths about extraterrestrial activity in the US, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). In one case in the 1980s, a US Air Force colonel visited a bar near the highly classified military base, deep in the Nevada desert, and gave the owner images of what looked like flying saucers. The photographs were then pinned to the walls – and the idea was planted that Area 51 was being used to secretly test recovered alien technology. However, the images were doctored, the now-retired colonel reportedly confessed to Pentagon investigators in 2023. The disinformation mission was part of an effort to hide the testing of new top-secret stealth aircraft, developed to penetrate the Soviet Union's air defences. Military officials, fearing that the F-117 programme might be exposed, hoped locals would believe the other worldly-looking jets instead came from outside Earth. The WSJ said the disinformation efforts were uncovered during an extensive review by a Pentagon team into long-running conspiracy theories about Washington allegedly hiding research into aliens. However, the newspaper said a report of the review's findings, published last year, 'itself amounted to a cover-up – but not in the way the UFO conspiracy industry would have people believe'. While the investigation found no evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial beings or crafts – or of a related government cover-up – it 'omitted key facts... both to protect classified secrets and to avoid embarrassment,' the WSJ alleged. Investigators found that many reported UFO sightings were usually of drones, rockets, birds or, in some rare cases, misidentified new experimental space, rocket or air systems. However, the newspaper said evidence also emerged, dating back to the 1950s, of US government agencies fanning the flames of alien-related conspiracy theories to protect military assets. Investigators were supposedly still trying to work out if the disinformation tactics formed part of a centralised, institutionalised programme or were led by local officers. The newspaper said one rumour spread by officials that had spun widely out of control over the decades had originated from a 'bizarre hazing ritual' for new commanders of a classified air force programme. It said recruits would be handed a piece of paper with a photograph of a 'flying saucer' as part of their induction briefing. Officers were then told they would be joining a top-secret fake unit, dubbed Yankee Blue, that was trying to reverse-engineer alien aircraft. The commanders were also ordered never to mention it again. But investigators found that many never discovered it was fake. In 2023, a memo was circulated ordering the hazing ritual to stop, although the damage was largely done. The discovery reportedly led Avril Haines, Joe Biden's director of national intelligence, to ask whether the practice was directly responsible for the ongoing myth that Washington had concealed an alien programme from the American people. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pentagon planted UFO myths to hide secret weapons programs?
A new Department of Defense (DoD) report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal reveals that the U.S. military deliberately fueled UFO conspiracy theories—including those linked to Area 51—to conceal top-secret weapons programs such as the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter during the Cold War. The report, compiled by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), found that the Pentagon spread disinformation, including doctored photographs of flying saucers, and intentionally withheld information from witnesses who had unknowingly seen classified military tests. One striking example uncovered in the 2024 report involves a retired Air Force colonel who, during the 1980s, visited a bar near Area 51 and handed the owner fabricated images of flying saucers. The colonel later admitted to Pentagon investigators that he was acting under official orders to spread false information and divert attention from the F-117 stealth jet tests being conducted at the site. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Private Jet - The Prices May Surprise You! Private Jet I Search Ads Learn More Undo The AARO, created in 2022 to investigate decades of UFO-related claims, discovered a culture of misinformation and even internal pranks. Its first director, Sean Kirkpatrick, led a wide-ranging investigation into decades of Defense Department memos, briefings, and classified communications. Among the findings: Air Force officers routinely hazed new recruits with fake briefings about a fictional unit called 'Yankee Blue' tasked with investigating alien spacecraft. The briefings came with strict orders never to speak about them. Many recipients believed the stories for years, unaware it was an elaborate ruse. The Pentagon only issued an order to end the practice in 2023. Live Events The motive behind the fake briefings remains unclear, though some speculate it was used as a loyalty test or a deeper tactic to seed confusion and misdirection. The report also highlights how real eyewitnesses were misled. Former Air Force captain Robert Salas, for example, has long claimed he saw a UFO hover over a Montana nuclear missile silo in 1967, disabling all 10 warheads and shutting down electrical systems. He was later ordered to remain silent about the incident. Kirkpatrick's team found that what Salas actually witnessed was an early electromagnetic pulse (EMP) test intended to evaluate whether U.S. silos could withstand nuclear radiation and still retaliate. The test failed—and rather than admit to the vulnerability, officials opted to let witnesses draw their own, more otherworldly conclusions. The AARO report also confirms that several well-known UFO rumors, including the Area 51 legend, were seeded to distract the public and foreign adversaries from ongoing experimental aircraft development. These revelations explain why last year's transparency report from the Pentagon omitted crucial details about the origins of these myths. The Department of Defense has acknowledged that not all AARO findings have been made public but has pledged to release a follow-up report later this year. 'The department is committed to releasing a second volume of its Historical Record Report, to include AARO's findings on reports of potential pranks and inauthentic materials,' the Pentagon said in a statement. While the revelations help explain the origins of several Cold War-era conspiracies, they also cast doubt on the authenticity of more recent UFO footage released by the military, including the viral 2020 Navy pilot videos.
New York Post
08-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
The Pentagon secretly planted Area 51 UFO conspiracy theory to hide secret weapons program
Some of the most prevalent UFO conspiracy theories — including about aliens being housed a Area 51 in Nevada — were fueled by the Pentagon in an attempt to provide cover for secret weapons programs, according to a bombshell report. A review by the Department of Defense found that in the 1980s, an Air Force colonel visited a Nevada bar near Area 51 and gave the owner fabricated photos of flying saucers near the secret government base, according to a review of the 2024 report by the Wall Street Journal. The incident renewed local fervor over UFOs, with the now-retired colonel confessing to Pentagon investigators that he was on an official mission to spread disinformation and hide the true purpose of the site, where the government was testing the first-ever stealth warplane, the F-117 Nighthawk. 5 The Pentagon found that at the origin of some of the UFO conspiracy theories came from the Department of Defense itself, the details of which were kept out of last year's transparency report. AP 5 Several of the theories stemmed from the agency's need to keep its newly developed aircraft and weapons programs concealed near Area 51. AP The military reasoned that the best way to keep its new technology hidden from the Soviet Union's prying eye during the Cold War was to bury it amid the trove of conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51, investigators found. The incident is just one of several where government agencies allegedly played up America's UFO mythology for the purpose of protecting its military assets, according to the 2024 report. Other military attempts to obscure secret projects with conspiracy theories were not made public. Sean Kirkpatrick, the first director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), was the man tasked by the government to dissect countless UFO theories in 2022. As his office probed decades of documents, memos and messages across the Defense Department, he found several conspiracy theories that circled back to the Pentagon itself. 5 The report raises questions about new reports of UFOs released by the Pentagon, including this 2020 footage from Navy pilots. DoD/AFP via Getty Images 5 The Area 51 conspiracy theory was planted to hide the development of the F-117, the world's first stealth fighter jet. REUTERS In one instance, Kirkpatrick's team found that the Air Force hazed members with briefings introducing them to a fake 'Yankee Blue' unit that purported investigated alien aircraft. The briefings came with a direct order never to mention the details to anyone, with many of the targets of the prank never learning it was all a ruse, according to interviews with Kirkpatrick's team. The bizarre practice was still taking place during the investigation, with the Pentagon eventually sending an order across the DOD in 2023 to finally put an end to it. It remains unclear why officials presented subordinates with the fake briefings, with rumors speculating it could have been used as a loyalty test or to spread misinformation. Kirkpatrick also found that the government deliberately left people in the dark when they witnessed secret military projects, according to the WSJ. Robert Salas, a former Air Force captain, was one of those people. Salas claims he witnessed a UFO descend over a nuclear missile testing site in Montana in 1967. During the event, a flashing light was able to disable all 10 nuclear missiles at the bunker, along with all electrical systems. 5 One the rumors stemmed from years of officers hazing subordinates about the existence of a supposed UFO program, a well-known practice the Pentagon put a stop to in 2023. AP He was ordered to never discuss what he saw, with Salas maintaining that he witnessed alien visitors chiming in on the Cold War. Kirkpatrick's team, however, discovered that Salas was never told that what he actually saw was a test of a fledging electromagnetic pulse test to see if American silos could withstand the radiation of atomic weapons and retaliate if the Soviet Union ever attacked first. With the test failing, officials decided that it was best no one knew the secret of the vulnerability, so Salas and the other witnesses were intentionally left in the dark to make their own conclusions. The DOD has acknowledged that not everything has been made public about the AARO's discoveries, but the military claims it will be more transparent in its follow up report scheduled for later this year. 'The department is committed to releasing a second volume of its Historical Record Report, to include AARO's findings on reports of potential pranks and inauthentic materials,' the DOD said in a statement.
