LTV YA-7K 73-1008 United States Air Force

These are 1/72 scale decals for the LTV YA-7K Corsair II prototype, serial 73-1008, assigned to the 4451st Tactical Squadron of the United States Air Force — depicted in the distinctive Euro 1 camouflage scheme worn during its classified operational evaluation.

The YA-7K was a two-seat development of the A-7D Corsair II, originally conceived as a trainer variant but ultimately pressed into a far more secretive role. In the early 1980s, the USAF selected the A-7 as a surrogate trainer for pilots transitioning to the classified Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft — whose existence was not yet publicly known. The two-seat YA-7K allowed instructor pilots to observe and evaluate student performance in a low-observable mission profile without revealing the actual F-117 program.

The 4451st Tactical Squadron was a component of the highly secretive 4450th Tactical Group, based at the classified Tonopah Test Range Airport, Nevada — the remote facility where the F-117 was developed, tested, and operated in total secrecy throughout the 1980s. Operating under cover as a routine A-7 unit, the 4450th Group and its subordinate squadrons maintained an elaborate deception to conceal the F-117 program from public and foreign intelligence scrutiny. The YA-7Ks wore standard USAF markings and camouflage, giving no outward indication of their true purpose.

A genuinely unique and historically significant subject at the intersection of Cold War secrecy, stealth aviation history, and the twilight of the Corsair II's USAF career. Please allow some time for decal printing and shipping.