The Lockheed Have Blue was a top-secret technology demonstrator program conducted by Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects division, known as Skunk Works, during the late 1970s. Developed under a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the program aimed to validate the feasibility of a low-observable attack aircraft for the United States Air Force. The project was led by chief engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson and his successor, Ben Rich, the latter of whom is credited with driving the stealth initiatives that produced Have Blue and the subsequent F-117.
Lockheed received the DARPA contract in early 1977 to build two 60-percent scale flyable test aircraft. These prototypes were assembled in a secure area within Building 83C at Lockheed's facility in Burbank, California. The first prototype achieved its maiden flight on December 1, 1977. The aircraft's design was revolutionary, as it was the first aeroplane engineered specifically for stealth rather than aerodynamic qualities. To achieve minimal radar returns, the design utilized a faceted, plate-like shape intended to deflect electromagnetic waves away from radar emitters. This unconventional appearance led to the internal nickname “Hopeless Diamond.” Because this configuration was aerodynamically unstable, the aircraft required a fly-by-wire flight-control system to remain flyable.
Technically, the Have Blue was powered by two General Electric J85-GE-4A non-afterburning turbojet engines. The aircraft was designed for a single pilot and served exclusively as a testbed for flight dynamics and radar cross-section performance. Flight testing took place between 1977 and 1979 at the Groom Lake test site in Nevada, also known as Area 51. The program never entered operational military service or saw combat, as its sole purpose was to prove that an aircraft could penetrate modern radar-guided defenses through low observability.
Both prototypes were eventually lost in flight accidents before 1980, meaning no original Have Blue aircraft survive today. Despite their loss, the program provided the essential data and validation required to fund and develop the F-117A Nighthawk, which entered service in 1983. The legacy of Have Blue extends to nearly all subsequent U.S. stealth platforms, including the B-2, F-22, and F-35, as it established the foundational methods for radar-cross-section prediction and stealth design.