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00:00Imagine flying the world's most advanced stealth bomber, invisible to radar, until a single mistake lights you up like a Christmas tree for your enemy's missiles.
00:10Now, you're plummeting in flames behind enemy lines, hunted by soldiers, police, and even dogs trained to tear you apart.
00:18You're caked in mud, knife in hand, heart pounding as you decide whether to kill a sniffing dog to save yourself, knowing the enemy is just meters away.
00:26This isn't a Hollywood movie. It's 1999. A real pilot in a top-secret F-117 is about to become the only stealth bomber ever shot down in combat.
00:37His parachute glowing bright orange like a target. His only hope, a desperate flare, and a last-second helicopter rescue.
00:45What went so horribly wrong, and how did his enemies pull off the impossible?
00:49Before we dive deep into this story, subscribe to the channel so you never miss powerful and thought-provoking stories.
00:56Let's go in deep.
00:58You won't believe how one of the most advanced stealth bombers in U.S. history was destroyed by a radar system older than its pilot.
01:06It's March 27, 1999.
01:09An F-117 Nighthawk cuts through the stormy night skies, flying low over the Serbian countryside.
01:17In control is Lieutenant Colonel Daryl Zelko, who has been assigned a high-risk mission.
01:22Bomb the Serbian Air Force's command center in Belgrade.
01:26That same facility is home to the command attempting to take him down tonight.
01:31Riding shotgun with him are F-16 Vipers, armed with radar-guided missiles capable of neutralizing threats from beneath.
01:39But as they enter Serbian airspace, a voice squawks over the radio.
01:43This is Joint Force's air component commander.
01:46The weather turns bad, and escorting Vipers are recalled to base at once.
01:51Zelko is left to fend for himself.
01:53In order to live, he needs to disappear, become invisible, a specter in the air.
01:59Fortunately, he's piloting the most technologically sophisticated bomber in its day.
02:03Thanks to its state-of-the-art stealth capabilities, the 65-foot-long Nighthawk appears on radar as little more than a tennis ball-sized blip.
02:13Until tonight, no mission it's flown has ever been contested.
02:18Far beneath, a P-18 radar lights up.
02:21A surface-to-air missile SAM battery is ready.
02:24It is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Zoltan Dani.
02:27Thanks to Serbian intelligence agents, he's been warned.
02:30American planes are en route, and Dani thinks this is his golden moment to destroy one of the elusive stealth fighters.
02:38Search the skies, he yells, and the P-18 early warning radar starts scanning.
02:43Operating at a lower frequency, Dani thinks it might be able to get a glimpse of what other radars can't, but it's chaotic.
02:51Rain and clouds clog the screen with false echoes.
02:54I don't see the target, one of the soldiers reports.
02:57But Dani bends in closer, examining the jumbled radar image.
03:01Then, there it is.
03:03I see it.
03:03A small dot crawling across the cauldron of weather noise.
03:07It's coming straight for them.
03:09The ghost is here.
03:10Activate targeting radar.
03:11It's on.
03:1220 seconds.
03:13Still can't see the target.
03:15Keep trying.
03:16At the same time, Zelko's Nighthawk rockets toward the target.
03:20His onboard computer sets the bombs in sequence.
03:23Let's run it again.
03:24Phi-1 is hot.
03:25Phi-2 is hot.
03:26Dani looks at the low frequency radar again.
03:29The blip is still present, right before them.
03:32But in order for the SAM system to fire, they have to have the targeting radar lock on.
03:37I don't see the target.
03:38The men look up at the skies with keen eyes and racing hearts.
03:42I don't see the target.
03:43But their screens stay quiet, vacant, for the moment.
03:46He felt invincible.
03:48Then one tiny error made his stealth bomber a fiery ball of flame in enemy airspace.
03:55CERB missile defense waits.
03:56But at the worst possible time, Zelko opens the bomb bay doors, immediately increasing the radar cross-section of the Nighthawk.
04:04I have it.
04:05Target locked.
04:06Phi-2 is on track.
04:07Phi-1 is locked in.
04:09Fire.
04:09Two missiles shoot off the launchers in quick succession, piercing the black sky.
04:14Meanwhile, Zelko drops his bomb.
04:16Laser-guided, they flash towards the target and detonate on contact.
04:20He passes over the target.
04:22Mission complete.
04:23He starts to climb to 6 kilometers.
04:25But then, seconds later, the cockpit is filled with a blaring alarm.
04:29Lights strobe.
04:30It's a lock alert.
04:31In seconds, he sees two missile tracks lighting up the clouds below and then pushing through, heading right for him.
04:38He acts with lightning reflexes.
04:40Putting the jet into evasive action, he jerks the plane into a violent climb.
04:44The G-force is slamming him into the seat.
04:46Alarms shout in his ears.
04:48The F-117 has no chaff or flares.
04:51He has no countermeasures.
04:53His flying alone keeps him alive.
04:55Time slow.
04:56He observes the first missile approaching.
04:59But then, catastrophe.
05:01Impact.
05:02He realizes it's over.
05:04They got me.
05:05These are proximity-fused missiles designed to explode close to the plane.
05:10Miraculously, the first missile fails, whizzing by his canopy.
05:14But the second doesn't.
05:16It detonates in a blinding flash, spewing razor-sharp shrapnel that tears through the left wing of his Nighthawk.
05:23A blazing orange light illuminates the darkness as the entire left panel is torn apart.
05:29Control is lost at once.
05:31The jet spins out of control.
05:33Zelko pinned under G-forces as the plane rears out of control.
05:37The cockpit is bathed in warning lights.
05:40Flames howl by the windows as the countryside whips around madly.
05:44He realizes he's in critical danger.
05:46Even firing could kill him.
05:48But it's the only alternative.
05:49Struggling against almost 7 Gs of squeeze force, around 100 pounds on each arm,
05:55he grasps the ejection handles.
05:57Driven by raw adrenaline, he's able to pull.
06:00Instantly, the canopy blows out in pieces.
06:02His seat shoots clear of the cockpit.
06:04For what seems like an eternity, one and a half sickening seconds,
06:08he free-falls, tied to his seat.
06:10He floats in and out of consciousness,
06:12believing he's still stuck in the crashed plane,
06:15that the ejection didn't work.
06:16Then, the jolt of the parachute, it unfolds.
06:20He catches sight of his Nighthawk, a burning Hulk, whirling off into the blackness.
06:24The madness gives way to unexpected, spooky tranquility.
06:28He gasps air.
06:29He's alive.
06:30But harsh reality intervenes.
06:33Man, Mom is not gonna be happy about this.
06:35He growls bitterly.
06:37He knows the enemy will be on the hunt.
06:39If he can come in undetected, there's hope for rescue with minimal commotion.
06:44But then he glances up.
06:46He is filled with horror.
06:47His parachute is orange.
06:49It's almost a shining light in the darkness above.
06:52Understanding that he has no hope of being undetected, he takes out his survival radio.
06:58He calls in.
06:59Mayday.
07:00Mayday.
07:01Mayday.
07:01Vega 31.
07:03Vega 31.
07:04Going down.
07:05Relief floods him when he receives the response.
07:08Vega 31.
07:09Magic copies your mayday.
07:11Last position.
07:12Vega 31.
07:13Aircraft's final position.
07:15Post target point.
07:16As he floats down, Zelko sees a ditch under him.
07:20But before he can report anything else on the radio, he crashes.
07:23Stranded behind the enemy lines, he was the most pursued man in Serbia.
07:28Equipped with nothing but mud, a knife, and a determination to live.
07:33He's all alone now, deep behind enemy lines.
07:36Zelko runs for the ditch he'd seen on his fall.
07:39There, he quickly covers himself with mud, concealing himself as well as he can, while
07:45hoping against hope for rescue.
07:47Word that an American stealth plane has crashed spreads like a wildfire.
07:51The Serbian troops waste no time at all sending out a massive search campaign.
07:57Search increases everywhere around him as troops flood in.
08:01Soon to be followed by police and even civilians, attracted by rumors.
08:05They all want to find him.
08:07Flashlights cut through fields.
08:08Trucks rumble past on the nearby highway.
08:11There is nothing Zelko can do but crouch there and hope they don't spot him.
08:14Suddenly, he hears the sound of rustling in the undergrowth, growing louder.
08:18Someone is approaching just beyond the ditch.
08:20He stands still, hardly breathing, quiet as a stone.
08:23He can hear panting, sniffing, a dog.
08:26Slowly, he produces his knife, attempting not to make any noise.
08:30The dog creeps nearer, following his smell.
08:32He considers his options.
08:34Should he kill the dog?
08:35Could he do so quietly?
08:36But ultimately, he chooses to spare it.
08:38If he killed it, he reasons, its handler would come running immediately.
08:42To his immense relief, the dog pauses, then turns and bounds away.
08:46Then, the radio crackles.
08:48A thin lifeline of hope.
08:50Sandy 01, Vega 31.
08:52Over.
08:53Zelko's eyes widen.
08:54They're here.
08:55He can be there.
08:56Come with me.
08:56Go ahead.
08:57Sandy 01.
08:58Over.
08:59Vega 31.
09:00Is it okay to come down there?
09:01Zelko doesn't answer right away.
09:03He leans out of concealment, looking around for movement or flashlights cutting too close.
09:08Lights shine far away, glinting off wet blades of grass.
09:11He might be armed.
09:13Watch yourself.
09:13Vega 31.
09:14Respond or we'll attempt this later.
09:16He decides.
09:17Yeah.
09:18All right, let's try it.
09:19He turns on his infrared strobe, a beacon to lead the helicopter in.
09:23But catastrophe, the strobe fails.
09:25The rescue helicopter is flying overhead but cannot spot him.
09:29He ignites the flare and gives away his location to both rescuers and enemy forces.
09:34Seconds after, the world's sole stealth bomber shootdown becomes a possible captured pilot news story.
09:40The flare erupts into life.
09:42Brilliant white light engulfs the area.
09:44Zelko swears under his breath and frantically searches around for threat.
09:48He does have an alternate signal device, but it's hardly subtle.
09:52It's dangerous, but there's no time for considerations.
09:55He takes the decision.
09:56With a quick flick, he lights the flare.
09:58Light pours out over the black field, completely exposing his location, not only to the rescue chopper, but to any Serbian patrols that happen to be in the area.
10:08There he is.
10:09Somebody yells over the comm.
10:11The helo swoops in quickly, arriving just as enemy troops start to move in from the distance as well.
10:17Ground-based flashlights bore in on the light of the flare.
10:21Anxiety peaks.
10:22Then, another voice breaks in through the radio.
10:25Snuff your flare.
10:26It blinds our night vision.
10:28Zelko acts quickly, grabbing the flare and pushing it hard into the mud, suffocating the light just as the helicopter comes along.
10:36It sets down in front of him.
10:37The side door opens.
10:39An American rescue team extends an arm.
10:41How you feeling, sir?
10:43Great!
10:43Now let's get out of here.
10:44Rotor wash blows across the field as the chopper takes off, seconds before enemy troops advance toward the landing zone.
10:51It's a bare-bones escape.
10:53The sole Nighthawk ever shot down.
10:55Lieutenant Colonel Zoltan Dani and his crew are the sole individuals in history to have shot down a stealth plane in combat to date.
11:03Recalling that night, Dani stated on one occasion,
11:06When it struck, it felt wonderful, like being the one to score the winning goal in a football game.
11:12The U.S. never bombed the wreckage.
11:14Serbian troops were able to salvage and recover major sections of the shot down F-117.
11:21To this day, you can go into the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade and view fragments of the once-untouchable Nighthawk on display.
11:29And Zelko?
11:30He never was bitter about it.
11:31In fact, for years, he complained he had always wanted to meet the man who shot him down, to shake his hand.
11:37He finally had the opportunity in 2011, 12 years after the crash.
11:43The late 20th century was filled with unforgettable stories of the military.
11:47And here's another one.
11:48The final real tank battle of the century.
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