China stole stealth F-117 Nighthawk technology from US?

baydude

Senior member
Sep 13, 2011
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Not officially confirmed but wouldn't be surprised if China stole technology from US to build that F-117 replicate. How soon will it be before China exceeds US in military advancement and power?
 

UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
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I’ve seen this. F117 crashed in Iran I think it was and ended up being sold to the Chinese. As far as how soon they surpass us in military tech I don’t think that’s something we have to worry about.
 

theeedude

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
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Looks like some American idiots talking about some scary sinophobic conspiracy sh!t to me. If Italian space agency had some magical technology that could differentiate radar signature of a stealth plane sitting on the ground from just ground and was using it to spy on China on American behalf, no one who knew would be talking about it on TV.
 

alcoholbob

Diamond Member
May 24, 2005
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That's totally last gen. In the future we won't even have pilots, and stealth isn't going to be a big deal. Just overwhelm air defenses with drone swarms.
 

UglyCasanova

Lifer
Mar 25, 2001
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Agreed, even if they do have a Nighthawk it doesn’t really matter. Do we even still fly them?
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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Sep 28, 2005
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u mean the f-35 .... sigh.... probably the worst plane we built.
The f-117 is not an Air to Air.... while the raptor is more air to air.
The F-35 is probably a better replacement wannabe for the 117 then a 22.

If we have something its under so much black tape, that no one will know we have it.
Not even the pilots who fly it will know what it is... just that its new.
 

1prophet

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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It's not a matter of if but when China passes up the United States and Americans, both greedy corporations and race to the bottom consumers, will have nobody to blame but themselves.
 

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
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1. F-117 is a primitive aircraft that was designed in the 1970's. Everything from metallurgy to avionics was "quaint". The design (shape) was based on readily available research that anyone could access.
2. Youtube based threads suck.
 

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
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The Chinese probably don't have the special ingredient in the capacitors for the electronics that keep them from bulging. ;)
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
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Not officially confirmed but wouldn't be surprised if China stole technology from US to build that F-117 replicate. How soon will it be before China exceeds US in military advancement and power?

Probably never because they steal instead of innovating. Now if China gets into the business of innovation then all bets are off.
 

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
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1. F-117 is a primitive aircraft that was designed in the 1970's. Everything from metallurgy to avionics was "quaint". The design (shape) was based on readily available research that anyone could access.
2. Youtube based threads suck.

Also, for low observable shaping to work, the manufacturing process needs to be highly precise. If parts of the fuselage fit together poorly, there will be seams that show up on radar. This is one of the reasons that no other country has ever produced an aircraft that is effectively invisible as the F-117, B-2, F-22, and F-35 are.

As your first point kind of suggests, the problem with stealth technology is not that the principals are secret, its that the principals are extremely difficult and expensive to exploit.

As a wholly separate aside, the US maintains a lead in radar technology that's almost as significant as its lead in stealth technology (and those two items are obviously very closely linked).
 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
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F-117's are still flying. They are used for testing and training.

From that wiki article:

The decommissioning occurred in eight phases, with the operational aircraft retired to Tonopah in seven waves beginning on 13 March 2007, and ending with the last wave's arrival on 22 April 2008.[3][53] Four aircraft were kept flying beyond April by the 410th Flight Test Squadron at Palmdale for flight test. By August, two were remaining. The last F-117 (AF Serial No. 86-0831) left Palmdale to fly to Tonopah on 11 August 2008.[53][74] With the last aircraft retired, the 410th was inactivated in a ceremony on 1 August 2008.[75]
 

brandonbull

Diamond Member
May 3, 2005
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Not officially confirmed but wouldn't be surprised if China stole technology from US to build that F-117 replicate. How soon will it be before China exceeds US in military advancement and power?

A certain US President did all he could to aid the Chinese in getting advanced technology.
 

NostaSeronx

Diamond Member
Sep 18, 2011
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u mean the f-35 .... sigh.... probably the worst plane we built.
Just a heads up, no this isn't the case. No one in Anandtech built the F35. The F35 was built by Lockheed Martin and paid by America. Even then it allows Israel total air dominance over the middle east. It is thee best built combat-orientated plane ever built.