Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft that was developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-117 was based on the Have Blue technology demonstrator.

The Nighthawk was the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology. Its maiden flight took place in 1981, and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983. The Nighthawk was shrouded in secrecy until it was revealed to the public in 1988. Sixty-four F-117s were built, 59 of which were production versions, with the other five being demonstrators/prototypes.

The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. Although it was commonly referred to as the "Stealth Fighter", it was strictly an attack aircraft. F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia, where one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) in 1999; it was the only Nighthawk to be lost in combat. The U.S. Air Force retired the F-117 in 2008, primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor.

Variants

 * YF-117: Pre-production prototype version.
 * F-117A: Production model aircraft.
 * F-117B: Unbuilt multirole variant proposed for service in the Royal Air Force.
 * F-117N Seahawk: Unbuilt carrier based multirole aircraft proposed for the United States Navy.

Users

 * United States
 * United States Air Force