1.
Air show
–
An air show, is a public event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators, usually by means of aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called static air shows, in the United States, some of the larger airshows are headlined by military jet demonstration teams including the U. S. Navy Blue Angels and USAF Thunderbirds. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will headline many airshows in Canada and the United States, some air shows are held as a business venture or as a trade event where aircraft, avionics and other services are promoted to potential customers. Many air shows are held in support of local, national or military charities, military air firms often organise air shows at military airfields as a public relations exercise to thank the local community, promote military careers and raise the profile of the military. Air show seasons vary around the world, the United States enjoys a long season that generally runs from March to November, covering the spring, summer, and fall seasons. Other countries often have much shorter seasons, in Japan air shows are generally events held at Japan Self-Defense Forces bases regularly throughout the year. The European season usually starts in late April or Early May and is usually over by mid October, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand hold their events between January and March. However, for acts, the off-season does not mean a period of inactivity, pilots. The type of displays seen at an event are constrained by a number of factors, including the weather, most aviation authorities now publish rules and guidance on minimum display heights and criteria for differing conditions. In addition to the weather, pilots and organizers must also consider local airspace restrictions, most exhibitors will plan full, rolling and flat display for varying weather and airspace conditions. The types of shows vary greatly, Air Displays can be held during day or night with the latter becoming increasingly popular. Shows dont always take place over airfields, some have held over the grounds of stately homes or castles. Before the Second World War, air shows were associated with long distance air races, often lasting many days, while the Reno Air Races keep this tradition alive, most air shows today primarily feature a series of aerial demos of short duration. Specialist aerobatic aircraft have piston engines, light weight and big control surfaces, making them capable of very high roll rates. A skilled pilot will be able to climb vertically, perform very tight turns, tumble his aircraft end-over-end, solo military jet demos, also known as tactical demo, feature one aircraft, usually a strike fighter or an advanced trainer. The demonstration focuses on the capabilities of aircraft used in combat operations. Manoeuvres include aileron rolls, barrel rolls, hesitation rolls, Cuban-8s, tight turns, high-alpha flight, a pass, double Immelmans. Tactical demos may include simulated bomb drops, sometimes with pyrotechnics on the ground for effect
2.
RAF Fairford
–
Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and it is the US Air Forces only European airfield for heavy bombers. RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASAs Space Shuttle in the UK, as well as having a sufficiently long runway for a shuttle landing, it also had NASA-trained fire and medical crews stationed on the airfield. The runway is rated with an unrestricted load-bearing capacity, meaning that it can support any aircraft with any type of load, RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display. RIAT is one of the largest airshows in the world, with the 2003 show recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest military airshow ever and these units are assigned to airfields at RAF Fairford, RAF Croughton, RAF Alconbury, and RAF Molesworth. The 420 ABG reported directly to 3rd Air Force until 26 May 2004, on 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom. The Airmen of the 501st CSW focus on units that, by their nature, are separated from main operating stations of RAFs Mildenhall, a command staff of about 30 people is assigned. From 2010 the 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron at RAF Fairford are responsible for the operations of RAF Fairford. RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British, in the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK. Four RAF airfields were selected to receive SAC units — RAF Brize Norton, RAF Fairford, RAF Greenham Common and RAF Upper Heyford. In 1948 the Americans occupied RAF stations including Fairford, Brize Norton, Burtonwood, Greenham Common, Mildenhall, Lakenheath and Woodbridge to build up a deterrent in Europe against the Soviets. RAF Lynehams position as the tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.30 and 47 Squadrons were transferred from their old base at RAF Fairford. In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, a 10, 000-foot runway was constructed for long-range bomber operations. The runway was completed in 1953, and served as an airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base. The airfield later received B-47s which were maintained at a state of alert because of increased tensions with the Soviet Union. Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, the U. S. Air Force returned with Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers deployed on rotation from the many KC-135 bases in the USA. On 15 November 1978 the 11th Strategic Group was activated at RAF Fairford and it was not manned until the following February and used KC-135 aircraft and crews from SAC, Air National Guard, and AF Reserve units until the 11 SG received its own aircraft in September 1979. It soon began aerial refueling support for all USAF operations, deployments and redeployments, aircraft and crews operated from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Keflavik, Iceland, Zaragosa, Spain, Lajes Field, Azores, Sigonella NAS, Italy, and Hellenikon, Greece
3.
Gloucestershire
–
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the fertile valley of the River Severn. The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other towns include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud. Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire originally included Bristol, then a small town. The local rural community moved to the city, and Bristols population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became a county in its own right, separate from Gloucestershire and it later became part of the administrative County of Avon from 1974 to 1996. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, the north of Bristol became a unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire and is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. The official former postal county abbreviation was Glos, rather than the frequently used but erroneous Gloucs. or Glouc. In July 2007, Gloucestershire suffered the worst flooding in recorded British history, the RAF conducted the largest peace time domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood affected areas. The damage was estimated at over £2 billion, the county recovered rapidly from the disaster, investing in attracting tourists to visit the many sites and diverse range of shops in the area. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Gloucestershire has mainly comprehensive schools with seven schools, two are in Stroud, one in Cheltenham and four in Gloucester. There are 42 state secondary schools, not including sixth form colleges, all but about two schools in each district have a sixth form, but the Forest of Dean only has two schools with sixth forms. All schools in South Gloucestershire have sixth forms, each has campuses at multiple locations throughout the county. Most of the old market towns have parish churches, at Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain. These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship, other notable buildings include Calcot Barn in Calcot, a relic of Kingswood Abbey. Thornbury Castle is a Tudor country house, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, near Cheltenham is the 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve, the mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey
4.
North Weald Airfield
–
North Weald Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain and it is the home of North Weald Airfield Museum. Although unlicensed it is home to private aircraft and historic types. Royal Flying Corps Station North Weald Bassett aerodrome was established in the summer of 1916 during the First World War by the Royal Flying Corps, later it became Royal Air Force with effect from Monday 1 April 1918. Its military functions continued to develop during the period, with the building of large hangars. The airfield played an important part in the air defence strategy of the United Kingdom during the Second World War, initially Hawker Hurricanes were deployed at the airfield, alongside Bristol Blenheim night fighters. The Hurricanes from North Weald saw action over the beaches of Dunkirk, in 1940, two American Eagle Squadrons moved into North Weald supplied with Spitfires. A couple of later, Norwegian squadrons were reassigned to the airfield. Jet fighter squadrons were based at North Weald from 1949 and the sight of Gloster Meteors, the last front line combat unit, No.111 Squadron RAF flying Hawker Hunters, the famous Black Arrows of 22 loop formation fame, left North Weald in 1958. And, in 1964, the RAF withdrew from the airfield completely, North Weald is a general aviation airfield with just over 20,000 movements per annum, connecting people from London and Essex, with destinations across England and abroad by air travel. Resident organizations include Area 51, Hangar 11 Collection, Aces High, an original 1927 hangar remains, as does the former Officers Mess, a Grade 2 listed building. Some former married quarters dating from the early 1970s can be seen in Lancaster, a Hawker Hurricane Mk1 replica has been erected near the main gate and can be viewed on market days. On occasions North Weald has 300 to 500 movements a day, the airfield was granted listed status in 2005. There is a large Saturday market based on the airfield which draws crowds from around Essex. It claims to be one of the largest open air markets in the UK, bus service 522 operates a frequent service to the market from Harlow, and the service is subsidised by the company that owns the market. The airfield was used as the camp for the 2007 World Scout Jamboree. In the 1990s, the Aces High hangar was used as the home for Channel 4s TV game show The Crystal Maze, which had moved from Shepperton Studios because of lack of space. There are two FBOs at North Weald who provide aircraft maintenance and repair, handling and cleaning, refuelling and hangarage services, as well as visitor parking and events organising
5.
RAF Greenham Common
–
Royal Air Force Greenham Common or RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in Berkshire, England. The airfield was southeast of Newbury, Berkshire, about 55 miles west of London, opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War and the United States Air Force during the Cold War. After the Cold War ended, it was closed in 1993, the airfield was also known for the Greenham Common Womens Peace Camp held outside its gates in the 1980s. In 1997 Greenham Common was designated as public parkland, the common was made a site of site of Special Scientific Interest in 1985 along with crookham common. Before the building of an airfield, Greenham Common was a piece of common land and it was used for troop movements during the English Civil War and in the nineteenth century. In late 1943, Greenham Common airfield was turned over to the USAAF Ninth Air Force, an American advance party soon arrived to ready the airfield for the incoming units. Greenham Common was known as USAAF Station AAF-486 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war and its USAAF Station Code was GC. The first arrival was the 51st Troop Carrier Wing Headquarters, arriving in September 1942, the 51st TCW controlled the three troop carrier groups at RAF Keevil, RAF Aldermaston and RAF Ramsbury as part of Twelfth Air Force. The Wing Headquarters was located in requisitioned Bowdown House, a mansion on the northeast end of the airfield, the 51st TCW HQ followed its groups to North Africa as part of Operation Torch in November 1942. On 4 November the 354th Fighter Group arrived from Portland Army Air Field, Oregon and this was a change of equipment for the group, as they had trained with Bell P-39 Airacobras. The group stayed at Greenham Common for only a few days, a few weeks later on 13 January 1944, the 368th Fighter Group arrived from Farmingdale, New York, flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. The 368th FG moved to RAF Chilbolton the next day, literally as the 368th FG was moving out, the 438th Troop Carrier Group was flying into Greenham Common from RAF Langar. The 90th TCS stayed in the UK and operated from RAF Welford until the rest of the aircraft returned from Italy on 24 August. In the absence of the 438th, the 316th Troop Carrier Group used Greenham Common as a forward base, after the 1948 Berlin Blockade and the 1950 invasion of South Korea by the Korean Peoples Army, the perceived threat from the Soviet Union rose. Formal handover to the 7th Air Division was on June 18, basically, the entire wartime airfield was demolished and replaced with a new 10,000 ft east/west runway with parallel taxiways north and south of it leading to extensive hardstandings. A new technical and domestic site was built to the south of the runway, involving diversion of the A339 road and demolition of several homes, construction work was finally completed and the base declared operational in September 1953. In the post-Second World War years, the United States Strategic Air Command was based at three airfields in eastern England, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham and RAF Sculthorpe. The initial bomber wing deployed was the 303d Bombardment Wing with B-47 Stratojets, the 303d stayed just over a month, returning on 28 April 1954
6.
Elizabeth II
–
Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
7.
RAF Cottesmore
–
Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. The station housed all the operational Harrier GR9 squadrons in the Royal Air Force, on 15 December 2009 it was announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9 and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier. However the formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011 with the airfield becoming a satellite to RAF Wittering until March 2012, in July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced plans for it to be the airfield for one of five of the Armys Multi-Role Brigades. In April 2012 it was renamed Kendrew Barracks after Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew, the badge of RAF Cottesmore consisted of a hunting horn, a five-pointed star and a horseshoe. The description is in front of a horseshoe a mullet overall a hunting horn in bend, the motto We rise to our obstacles is both a reference to the Cottesmore Hunt and was intended to convey the spirit with which the Royal Air Force confronts difficulties. The badge was granted in 1948, the badge appears on the nameplate of the LNER Peppercorn Class A160163 Tornado steam locomotive that was named by HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on 19 February 2009. RAF Cottesmore opened on 11 March 1938, the station was used mainly for training, and the first squadrons were equipped with Vickers Wellesley aircraft, but soon converted to Fairey Battles. Later RAF Bomber Command took over the airfield, again as a training station and these units remained in residence until a few days before the outbreak of war in 1939 when they were sent to RAF Cranfield to serve as a pool providing replacements for combat losses. Their place at Cottesmore was taken by Nos.106 and 185 Squadrons, however, with the outbreak of war, the aircraft and crews were sent to locations in the north and west, as enemy air attacks were expected over the southern half of England. As these never materialised, the Hampdens returned in the spring of 1940 and No.185 Squadron became the Hampden operational training unit, cottesmores Hampdens first trespass into hostile airspace was a leaflet dropping operation over northern France. In October 1940,106 Squadron moved to RAF Finningley while No.14 OTU remained training crews for Bomber Command, its Hampdens, Training continued for three years and three months until August 1943 when No.14 OTU moved to RAF Market Harborough. On 8 September 1943 the United States Army Air Forces took the facilities over, under the designation USAAF Station 489, in anticipation of the stations future use by airborne forces,32 Horsa gliders were delivered for storage in July 1943. The 316th Troop Carrier Group began to arrive at Cottesmore on 15 February 1944 when 52 C-47, Cottesmore was officially handed back to the RAF on 1 July 1945. As a pre-war base with permanent buildings, it was inevitable that it would not remain vacant for long, Cottesmore again became a training station. In 1954 English Electric Canberras were moved in, the first time front-line combat aircraft had been based there, in 1957 it was announced that Cottesmore would become a base for aircraft of the V bomber force, carriers of Britains nuclear deterrent. The squadrons carried out Quick Reaction Alert duties using Handley Page Victor and later Avro Vulcan bombers, when they left the base was used by 90 Signals Group. Flight Checking, Trials and Evaluation Flight used 98 Squadron and 115 Squadron to provide ILS and radar trials, No.231 Operational Conversion Unit moved into Cottesmore on 19 May 1969 equipped with Canberras, staying until 12 February 1976 when it moved to RAF Marham. No.360 Squadron, an electronic countermeasures squadron flying Canberras,360 Squadron moved in September 1975 to RAF Wyton
8.
Rutland
–
Rutland /ˈrʌtlənd/ is a landlocked county in the East Midlands of England, bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest length north to south is only 18 miles and its greatest breadth east to west is 17 miles and it is the smallest historic county in England and the fourth smallest in the UK as a whole. Because of this, the Latin motto Multum in Parvo or much in little was adopted by the county council in 1950 and it has the smallest population of any normal unitary authority in mainland England and only the City of London is smaller in terms of area. Among modern ceremonial counties the Isle of Wight, City of London, the former County of London, in existence 1889 to 1965, also had a smaller area. It is 348th of the 354 districts in population, the only towns in Rutland are Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham. At the centre of the county is the artificial reservoir, Rutland Water, which is an important nature reserve serving as an overwintering site for wildfowl. Rutlands older cottages are built from limestone or ironstone and many have roofs of Collyweston stone slate or thatch, the origin of the name of the county is unclear. The northwestern part of the county was recorded as Rutland, a part of Nottinghamshire, in Domesday Book. It was first mentioned as a county in 1159. Historically it was known as Rutlandshire, but in recent times only the shorter name is common. Rutland may be from Old English hryþr or hrythr cattle and land land, however, A Dictionary of British Place-Names by A D Mills gives an alternative etymology, Rotas land, from the Old English personal name and land land. It is from the interpretation of red land that the traditional nickname for a male person from Rutland. Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England held in the Manners family, the Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status of Duke in 1703 and the titles were merged. The family seat is Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, the office of High Sheriff of Rutland was instituted in 1129, and there has been a Lord Lieutenant of Rutland since at least 1559. By the time of the 19th century it had been divided into the hundreds of Alstoe, East, Martinsley, Oakham, Rutland covered parts of three poor law unions and rural sanitary districts, those of Oakham, Uppingham and Stamford. In 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 the rural districts were partitioned along county boundaries to form three rural districts. Meanwhile, that part of Stamford RSD in Rutland became the Ketton Rural District, Oakham Urban District was created from Oakham Rural District in 1911. It was subsequently abolished in 1974, Rutland was included in the East Midlands General Review Area of the 1958–67 Local Government Commission for England
9.
Guinness World Records
–
The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time. As of the 2017 edition, it is now in its 63rd year of publication, the international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford. After missing a shot at a golden plover, he involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe. That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europes fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland and abroad and he realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful. Beavers idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended University friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, the twin brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954. A thousand copies were printed and given away, after the founding of The Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet Street, the first 198-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best seller lists by Christmas. The following year, it launched in the US, and sold 70,000 copies, since then, Guinness World Records has become a household name and the global leader in world records. Because the book became a hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years, Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975. Following Ross assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called Norris on the Spot, Guinness Superlatives Limited was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the Guinness book in the US for decades, and, under their management, the group was owned by Guinness PLC and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it was purchased by Gullane Entertainment. Gullane was itself purchased by HIT Entertainment in 2002, with offices in New York City and Tokyo, Guinness World Records global headquarters remain in London, while its museum attractions are based at Ripley headquarters in Orlando, Florida, US. Recent editions have focused on record feats by person competitors, many records also relate to the youngest person who achieved something, such as the youngest person to visit all nations of the world, being Maurizio Giuliano. Each edition contains a selection of the records from the Guinness database, as well as new records. The majority of records are no longer listed in the book or on the website. For those unable to wait the 4–6 weeks for a reply, the Guinness Book of Records is the worlds most sold copyrighted book, earning it an entry within its own pages
10.
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
–
The bomber can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as eighty 500 lb -class JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400 lb B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration, the ATB project continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B-1 program as well. Designed and manufactured by Northrop, later Northrop Grumman, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million, total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost including development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997, because of its considerable capital and operating costs, the project was controversial in the U. S. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress slashed plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21, in 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, though the crew ejected safely. A total of 20 B-2s remain in service with the United States Air Force, which plans to operate the B-2 until 2058. The B-2 is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet, with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles on internal fuel and over 10,000 nautical miles with one midair refueling. It entered service in 1997 as the aircraft designed to have advanced stealth technology after the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk attack aircraft. Though designed originally as primarily a bomber, the B-2 was first used in combat, dropping conventional. It later served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, by the mid-1970s, military aircraft designers had learned of a new method to avoid missiles and interceptors, known today as stealth. The concept was to build an aircraft with an airframe that deflected or absorbed radar signals so that little was reflected back to the radar unit. An aircraft having stealth characteristics would be able to fly nearly undetected and could be attacked only by weapons, although other detection measures existed, such as human observation, their relatively short detection range allowed most aircraft to fly undetected by defenses, especially at night. In 1974, DARPA requested information from U. S. aviation firms about the largest radar cross-section of an aircraft that would remain invisible to radars. Initially, Northrop and McDonnell Douglas were selected for further development, a key improvement was the introduction of computer models used to predict the radar reflections from flat surfaces where collected data drove the design of a faceted aircraft. Development of the first such designs started in 1975 with the hopeless diamond, plans were well advanced by the summer of 1975, when DARPA started the Experimental Survivability Testbed project. Northrop and Lockheed were awarded contracts in the first round of testing, Lockheed received the sole award for the second test round in April 1976 leading to the Have Blue program and eventually the F-117 stealth attack aircraft. Northrop also had a technology demonstration aircraft, the Tacit Blue in development in 1979 at Area 51. It developed stealth technology, LO, fly-by-wire, curved surfaces, composite materials, electronic intelligence, the stealth technology developed from the program was later incorporated into other operational aircraft designs, including the B-2 stealth bomber
,_Colombia_-_Air_Force_AN2152424.jpg)
