Stealth--the combat 'ace': a fighter pilot is considered an 'ace' after downing five enemy aircraft. Stealth aircraft have now participated in five combat actions--Panama, the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, so can perhaps be considered to have won 'ace' status.

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Technology

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Stealth--the combat 'ace': a fighter pilot is considered an 'ace' after downing five enemy aircraft. Stealth aircraft have now participated in five combat actions--Panama, the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, so can perhaps be considered to have won 'ace' status.

Stealth aircraft have played a significant role in recent conflicts, albeit in small numbers. During the war against Iraq earlier this year, only four of the 51 bombers used by the US Air Force were Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirits, while only twelve of the 293 fighters were Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawks.

While stealth aircraft have carried a reputation for being maintenance hungry, this was not reflected in the mission-capable rates reported for the Iraqi conflict. Both the B-2 and F-117A achieved higher mission-capable rates than the best conventional combat aircraft--85.0 per cent for the B-2, compared with 79.4 per cent for the B-52, and 89.3 for the F-117A, as compared with 84.1 per cent for the F-15E.

The ability of stealth aircraft to operate with near-impunity over enemy territory remains unique, though it must be said that during the air campaigns against the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, ...

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