Stealth: The Secret Contest to Invent Invisible Aircraft Illustrated Edition

I am a docent at the National Museum of the USAF. We have three of the aircraft discussed in this book the F-117, Tacit Blue and the B-2. This book greatly expanded my understanding of how these stealth aircraft came to be and will change, for the better I hope, how I present their stories to visitors. This book does the best job of tying the stories I have from other sources together and gives a perspective of the Southern California aerospace culture that I really enjoyed.

I found the book engaging and as someone who worked with these companies probably accurate. (Anyone who really knows has to stay silent).Lot of stuff on very interesting people and a good read especially if you are into aircraft.

I've always loved aircraft technology and this book answered a few questions I've had over the years about stealth. A good bit of history leading up to its use and how it was adapted into the planes of today.

Extremely interesting. This books presents a wealth of information on the development of Stealth technology. It does so explaining most of the concepts related to Stealth.Recommended

Very worth while read on the history of stealth. Brings a lot of information on stealth into one document.

I thought this was an excellent book describing the development of the Lockheed F 117 "Stealth Fighter" and the Northrop (now Northrop Grumman) B2 "Spirit" stealth bomber. The two airplanes were designed using very different approaches to stealthiness. It also describes a little of the Air Force acquisition process of the 1970s and 1980s. It includes the one-of technology prototypes "Have Blue" and "Tacit Blue" airplanes.I have read several books over the years that included purported histories of stealth airplane development. No two of them match exactly. I have no way of knowing whether this book's version is any more accurate than others. I suspect that this is one of those stories for which the truth will never really be known, even after 40 years now.One item that really stands out is just how incredibly expensive stealth planes are. An F 117 costs almost $350 million each in 1980 dollars. A B-2 stealth bomber costs more than $2 billion each. This incredibly high cost in conjunction with the esoteric technology required to design and and manufacture them has so far meant that the US is really the only country in the world that has them.The final chapter philosophizes on the strategic need and national economic impact of the technology. For all practical purposes, the "Stealth Program" has been funded almost entirely through deficit spending. Do the airplanes truly serve a strategic need or is the entire program a giant boondoggle to keep Lockheed and Northrop Grumman (along with thousands of highly paid engineers and aircraft assemblers) in business?

The development of Stealth aircraft is, without question, one of the more interesting developments in modern aerospace. And the author tells the tale quite well contrasting the stories of Northrup and Lockheed.Yet, he also flat out contradicts the auto-biographies of those who did the work. For example, he tells a 180 degree opposite story to what Ben Rich, who ran Skunk Works, tells. Doing this is not a problem. The problem is that the author does it without comment — leaving the impression that he is telling the story he'd rather tell not the story which is true. It's a major omission for an author with his credentials — yet that he does this is nowhere discussed.In the end, the chapters on building each aircraft were brilliant and incredibly compelling. The politics discussion is untrustworthy because of these significant omissions.I'm glad I read it — but cannot wholeheartedly recommend it to others.

A great story of the history of stealth technology in the aircraft industry. From the beginning you learn how the engineers, manufacturers and test pilots overcame each obstacle and developed the technology which helped the US win the cold war.

Very interesting read about stealth research. If you're interested in aerospace technology, then this book is highly recommended.

Superb story of Skunk works and the journey of stealth technology and the sacrifices made by staff to make the next technological leap.

Book is very well written. Full of details and anectotes. Suited best to truly passionate aviation fans than to casual readers.

As a person interested in Stealth I've read a number of books on the subject. This book provided to me a broader context of how the Stealth was conceived and developed by Lockheed and Northrup. I very much liked that the book described engineering difficulties faced by engineers and also that it talks about these engineers revealing the personal side behind the low observable.

An excellent historical account of two militarily sensitive US defence projects from the late Cold War period. The author succeeds in explaining (with more than expected technical detail) the methods used to defeat radar and the challenges involved in designing and manufacturing stealthy aircraft. At times, it strays into ‘human interest’ stories, but that can be forgiven due to the significant roles played by individual scientists, engineers and project leaders. It’s not often that one encounters a well-written yet concise business/technology book. For this reason, both the author and the OUP editors deserve additional credit.