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F-117 Nighthawk F-117 flying over mountains in Nevada in 2002 General information Type Stealth attack aircraft National origin United States Manufacturer Lockheed Corporation Status Retired from combat, used as training aircraft as of 2025 Primary user United States Air Force Number built 64 (5 YF-117As, 59 F-117As) History Introduction date October 1983 ; 41 years ago (1983-10) First flight ...
On 27 March 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, a Yugoslav Army unit shot down a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth ground attack aircraft of the United States Air Force by firing a S-125 Neva/Pechora surface-to-air missile. It was the first ever shootdown of a stealth technology airplane.
It is claimed that the HF frequency used and the method of bouncing radar from ionosphere overcomes the stealth characteristics of the F-117A. In other words, stealth aircraft are optimized for defeating much higher-frequency radar from front-on rather than low-frequency radars from above.
Under the control of Harold Farley, the aircraft took off on 18 June for its maiden flight, eleven months after the July 1980 first flight originally envisaged. [37] The first production F-117A was delivered in 1982, and operational capability was achieved in October 1983; the 59th and last F-117A was delivered in 1990. [41] [42]
The F-117A actually used large panels, but the basic principle was the same. [8] F-117A Nighthawk 79-7084 shown in a hangar at Nellis AFB, Nevada, while attached to the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing (Detachment 1). Bringing the F-117A out of the Black would have a number of advantages.
The aircraft was damaged beyond repair, but some of its parts could be salvaged. [5] On 10 November 1988, the long-rumored existence of the F-117 Stealth Fighter was finally officially confirmed by the Pentagon. [5] In 1990 the last F-117A was delivered. and the flight test squadron no longer had to perform acceptance flights at Groom Lake.
Each F-117 aircraft also carried a transponder that indicated to radar operators that it was an A-7. [27] In January 1989, just three months after the USAF admitted the F-117A existed, the aging A-7's were replaced with newer T-38A and AT-38B Talon trainers as a measure to streamline the F-117A's training operation. Many of these "Talons ...
As a result, in July 1993, the 9th received the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighters of the 37th Fighter Wing 417th Fighter Squadron, which was subsequently inactivated. [ 5 ] When the squadron received its F-117s from Tonopah, initially it was the training squadron, as the aircraft were the first pre-production aircraft that were ...