[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 4 (Monday, January 9, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO BEN RICH

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, it is my sad duty to inform the Senate 
that one of the giants of American aviation history, Mr. Ben Rich, the 
long-time director and spirit of the famed Lockheed Skunk Works, passed 
away on January 5, 1995, in Ventura, CA. Ben Rich was the driving 
creative force behind the most potent and successful aircraft created 
by man, including the U-2 and the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft, the 
workhorses of the cold war, and the F-117, or Stealth fighter, the 
backbone of our air campaign in the Desert Storm operation.
  Ben Rich's life was synonymous with the great achievements of post-
World War II advanced military American aviation. He joined Lockheed in 
1950, and participated in the aerodynamic, propulsion, and design 
aspects of the F-104, U-2, A-12, SR-71 Blackbird and numerous other 
programs that have earned the Lockheed Skunk Works unparalleled 
international recognition. In 1975, he was named Lockheed vice 
president in charge of this talented advanced development projects 
organization, and from 1975 until his retirement in 1991, he led the 
Skunk Works through an intense period, including the U-2 production 
restart, the Stealth fighter development and production and the F-22 
advanced tactical fighter prototype development, among other programs. 
Following his retirement, he continued in aviation as a consultant for 
the Rand Corp., Lockheed, and other defense contractors and 
organizations.
  Anyone who was privileged even to briefly meet with Ben Rich 
personally could not help but be affected by his infectious enthusiasm, 
boundless energy, and persistent can do attitude. It was an attitude 
which carried the greatest aircraft developments in the world through 
daunting engineering challenges at the very edge of the envelope of 
engineering design and system development.
  Unquestionably, his most notable recent achievement during his years 
as the Chief Skunk was the creation of the Stealth F-117 fighter 
program. He organized a research and development program to respond to 
the Nation's need for new fighter aircraft featuring low observable 
technologies. These included a revolutionary faceted external design, 
new inlet and exhaust nozzle concepts, advanced radar absorbing 
materials and structures, and unique antennas and apertures. Even with 
this range of new technologies, they were all put together in a winning 
system to achieve initial operational capability in just 5 years.

  Furthermore, his team was able to keep the existence of the aircraft 
totally secret, in the black, until its existence was formally 
acknowledged by the Air Force, from 1970 until 1988.
  The great value of the Stealth fighter was amply demonstrated during 
Desert Storm when a small force of some 42 aircraft had a major impact 
on the war. The F-117, according to unofficial sources, destroyed 40 
percent of all strategic targets with only 2 percent of the total of 
all Allied Forces tactical aircraft. It was the only aircraft to attack 
heavily defended Baghdad, unescorted, delivering laser-guided weapons 
with unprecedented accuracy, with minimum collateral damage and 
civilian casualties.
  Ben Rich's many achievements have been recognized repeatedly in the 
aerospace industry. In May 1994, Secretary of Defense William J. Perry 
presented him with the Distinguished Public Service Award. Among his 
other awards, he and his team were awarded the 1989 Collier Trophy by 
the National Aeronautic Association for the Stealth fighter. This award 
is given annually for the most outstanding achievement in aeronautics 
and or astronautics.
  With Ben's passing, we as a nation are poorer for out loss, but I am 
certain his spirit and achievements will continue to inspire a new 
generation of aerospace designers and engineers to new heights in one 
of America's premier industries.
  On behalf of myself and, I know, all my colleagues, I wish to convey 
our sincere condolences to his wife, Hilda, his son, Michael, and 
daughter, Karen.

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