F-117 Nighthawk
F-117 flying high over mountains
Role	Stealth attack aircraft[1]
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Corporation
First flight	18 June 1981
Introduction	October 1983[1]
Retired	22 April 2008[2]
Primary user	United States Air Force
Number built	64 (5 YF-117As, 59 F-117As)
Unit cost	US$42.6 million (flyaway cost) US$111.2 million (average cost)[3]
Developed from	Lockheed Have Blue

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) developed from the Have Blue technology demonstrator and produced by Lockheed's Skunk Works. It is the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology. The maiden flight of the F-117 happened in 1981 and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983.^[1] The Nighthawk spent much of its early service life shrouded in secrecy, until it was revealed to the world in November 1988.^[4]


The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Gulf War of 1991. Although it was commonly referred to as the "Stealth Fighter", it was a strictly ground-attack aircraft. F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia where one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) on 27 March 1999, the only Nighthawk to be lost in combat. The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008, primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor. Sixty-four F-117s were built, 59 of which were production versions with the other five being demonstrators/prototypes.