F-117A Stealth Fighter Unveiled
The lead sentence in “Stealth Fighter Comes Out of Hiding in Show” (by Associated Press, Part A, April 22) really made me burn. Calling the F-117A “one of America’s worst-kept secrets” is not only false, but belittles the sacrifices of the thousands of people, military and civilian, who kept the secret for over eight years.
As a member of the 4450th Tactical Group (later the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing), I can tell you firsthand about the constant, unrelenting pressure on the pilots, support personnel, factory workers, and their families from before the first flight in 1981 to the official Air Force announcement in November, 1988. While there was some speculation in the aviation press, even the most basic information on the project was never uncovered.
Our silence has given our country an enormous technological edge.
Too bad The Times didn’t send one of its own reporters to Las Vegas to get the real story.
MAJ. JERRY SINK, USAF
Las Vegas
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