U.S. Stealth Fighter Plane May Get Gray Makeover

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE， N.M. (Reuters)-The F-117A fighter jet， the radar-eluding stealth plane known for its angular design and charcoal black color， may be getting a makeover in a new shade of gray.

The U.S. Air Force has painted one of its stealth fighters at Holloman Air Force Base in Albuquerque， New Mexico to see.if the plane called the Nighthawk might be harder to spot when it flies during daylight hours in a color other than black.

\"ObviouslY， if you can see it less during the day， you can fly it more，\" said Col. Jim Carter， vice commander of the 53rd Wing at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida， which is overseeing the test.

The $45 million fighter plane first rolled off the assembly lines about 20 years ago and is painted a sleek black. The color is perfect for night flights， but creates a stark contrast with daytime skies.

Other color schemes have been tried before on the fighter.

Carter described the test shade as \"regular gray aircraft paint，\" similar to that currently used on other fighter jets. The cost of a paint job on one of the. fighters is \"a couple thousand dollars，\" he said.

The test fighter was painted last fall and will be observed over the year for\"visual acuity，\" meaning how easily it is detected during daylight， twilight and evening hours， Carter said. If officials like the new color， the rest of the fleet could get a similar makeover.

負(fù)責(zé)監(jiān)督這項(xiàng)試驗(yàn)的埃爾金空軍基地第53聯(lián)隊(duì)的副指控官C01．Jim Carter說：“很顯然，如果在白天更加隱蔽的話，就可以增加它飛行的機(jī)會(huì)”。

這種價(jià)值4千5百萬美元的戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)20年前首次投諸批量生產(chǎn)，并以圓潤(rùn)的黑色而著稱，這種顏色非常適合夜間飛行，但是在白天卻與天空形成鮮明的對(duì)比。此前，也曾試用過其他顏色。Carter稱這種灰色的外衣為“戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)的常規(guī)色”，與目前使用的其他戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)色澤相似，每架戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)的噴漆將花費(fèi)兩千美元左右。

這架試驗(yàn)飛機(jī)去年秋天接受了噴漆，要用一年時(shí)間來進(jìn)行“視覺敏銳度”檢測(cè)，檢測(cè)它在白天、黎明以及夜間是否容易被看到。如果官員們認(rèn)可這種新顏色，那么其余的戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)也會(huì)依此變臉。