Background During the 1970s and 1980s, several nations, having recognised the potential strategic value of
low observability, commenced research into the application of such technologies with the aim of developing viable
stealth aircraft for military purposes. During this time, American aircraft manufacturer
Lockheed Corporation was developing such aircraft in the form of the
Have Blue technical demonstrator along with a subsequent production type in the form of the
F-117 Nighthawk, a stealthy
strike aircraft. Amongst the other nations working on such matters was
West Germany; as early as 1975, the country had commenced its own independent research efforts into the field. During 1981, German aerospace manufacturer
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) commenced work on its own stealth aircraft research programme. This programme, which has been mainly known by the name
Lampyridae (Latin for
Fireflies), or alternatively as the
Medium Range Missile Fighter (MRMF), was conducted by MBB under the terms of a contract issued by the
German Air Force. According to aerospace publication
Flight International, the MRMF programme had been motivated by the concept that a future fighter could be both lighter and cheaper if it could be so superior at mid-range combat that it could eliminate the need to perform any close-range
dogfighting-style combat. As such, MBB was required to develop an airframe which possessed a suitable configuration to achieve a forward-facing
radar cross-section that would be between 20 and 30 dB (in the
X band frequencies) below that of what a conventional fighter would typically achieve. During early 1995, aerospace company
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA), the successor to MBB, decided to release some details of the previously top-secret Lampyridae programme. == Follow-on ==