The world''s first operational
aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology, the F-117A Nighthawk is a
precision-strike aircraft that penetrates high-threat airspace. It also uses laser-guided weapons against critical targets.
The Nighthawk flew approximately 1,300 sorties and scored direct hits on 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq during
Operation Desert Storm in 1991. It was the only coalition aircraft to strike targets in downtown Baghdad. The aircraft also led the first Allied air strike against Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999. Returning to the skies over Baghdad, the Nighthawk launched Operation Iraqi Freedom with a strike on March 20, 2003. Striking key targets in the toppling of Saddam Hussein''s regime, 12 deployed F-117s flew more than 100 combat sorties in support of the global war on terrorism.
The F-117A production began in 1978 through Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, the "Skunk Works," in Burbank, Calif. The first flight test ranges was held on June 18, 1981.Its first
delivery was made in 1982, and the last delivery, in the summer of 1990. The retirement of F-117s was started in December, 2006 as it is being replaced by the F-22 Raptor.