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As a result of increased Soviet air defense systems, the F-117 Nighthawk was developed and first flew in 1981 with the first production F-117 80-10785 making its maiden flight on April 20, 1982. It wasn’t until 1988 that the Pentagon confirmed its existence. The second Nighthawk produced was YF-117A 79-10781 and assigned to the 410th Flight Test Squadron “Baja Scorpions" and named Scorpion 2. In 1991 the first 2 aircraft of five full-scale development aircraft (FSD), 79-10780 and 79-10781 were to be retired early and displayed. In order to do this 79-10781 had to be stripped of its highly classified radar absorbent coating in order to protect the top secret technology. It was blasted with baking soda in a special facility so the bare aluminum body, which could be extremely dangerous to the health of the workers doing the blasting. The paint crews had some fun when repainting the aircraft and dubbed it “Toxic Death”; It was considered bad luck for an aircraft not to have a name. |