F-117 Archives

Aerospace & Defense

China’s New ‘Flying Wing’ Xi’an H-20 Stealth Bomber Is Now Frozen In a Development ‘Doom Loop’

China’s H-20 program began in 2016, yet as of 2026 there is no confirmed test flight or deployment. The United States went from the...

Caleb LarsonOctober 12, 2026

Four F-117 Nighthawks fly in formation during a sortie over the Antelope Valley recently. After 25 years of history, the aircraft is set to retire soon. As the Air Force's first stealth fighter, the F-117 is capable of performing reconnaissance missions and bombing critical targets, all without the enemy's knowledge. (Photo by Bobbi Zapka)

Aerospace & Defense

Lockheed Wanted to Put the F-117 Nighthawk on US Navy Aircraft Carriers. It Proposed 255 of Them at $70,000,000 Each — Almost $17,900,000,000 — and Congress Set Aside $175,000,000 Just to Study Whether It Would Work. The Navy Said No Twice.

The Navy had just lost the A-12 Avenger II and had nothing to replace the aging A-6 Intruder, so Lockheed pitched the F-117 stealth...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 28, 2026

F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter Harry Kazianis Photo

Aerospace & Defense

Combat Veteran US Air Force F-117 Nighthawk ‘Stealth Fighter’ Joins the National Air and Space Museum Collection at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

F-117A tail 85-0818, “The Overachiever,” flew in Panama, Desert Storm, Yugoslavia, and the 2003 Iraq War. The Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center is adding the Nighthawk...

Georgia GilholySeptember 22, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

F-117 Nighthawks Flew 2 Percent of Desert Storm’s Sorties and Hit 40 Percent of the Targets — More Than 1,500 of Them in 43 Nights, Without a Single Loss. 8 Years Later a 1961 Soviet Missile Shot 1 Down.

Colonel Zoltán Dani did not get lucky. He moved his missile battery constantly through the 78-day campaign, used couriers and landlines instead of radios,...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 10, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Retired the F-117 Nighthawk in 2008 and Never Stopped Flying It. The Service Now Says the Aircraft Will Stay in the Air Until 2034 — 26 Years After Its Own Retirement.

Lockheed built 64 F-117 Nighthawks — 5 development aircraft and 59 production F-117As — in a classified program costing about $6,560,000,000. The Air Force...

Brandon WeichertSeptember 10, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The ‘Retired’ US Air Force F-117 Nighthawk ‘Stealth Fighter’ Will Now Fly Until 2034 Thanks To China’s J-20 and Russia’s Su-57

The numbers from Desert Storm are the reason the F-117 changed how air forces think. It flew about 2 percent of the combat sorties...

Steve BalestrieriSeptember 6, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy Estimated $17,850,000,000 for an Aircraft Carrier-based F-117 Stealth Fighter. It Developed the F-35C Stealth Fighter Years Later for Billions More

The DoD feared that developing a naval F-117 would be too expensive and would divert funding from other projects, such as the Joint Advanced...

Isaac SeitzAugust 19, 2026

US Navy Sea Shadow Creative Commons Photo

Aerospace & Defense

‘Starve Before Doing Business With the Damned Navy’: The US Navy Spent $200,000,000 on a Stealth Warship That Only Had a Crew of 4 But Ended Up as Scrap as Even Museums Didn’t Want It

The Sea Shadow was a $200 million black program, built between 1984 and 1985 by Lockheed for DARPA and the Navy at Redwood City,...

Steve BalestrieriAugust 15, 2026

Tacit Blue Stealth Plane 19FortyFive.com Image

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Hid a Secret Stealth Aircraft for 14 Years — The ‘Whale’ Had a Radar Signature Smaller Than a Bat

Tacit Blue made its first flight at Area 51 on 5 February 1982 under the Battlefield Surveillance Aircraft-Experimental programme. The programme ended in 1985...

Harrison KassAugust 14, 2026

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force F-117 Stealth Fighter Was Supposed to Have Retired in 2008. The New Date Is Really 2034 Thanks to China and Russia

The F-117 retired in 2008, yet selected jets will fly through 2034 as low-observable adversaries, sensor testbeds and missile surrogates.

Harry J. KazianisAugust 8, 2026

19FortyFive

All posts tagged "F-117"

Aerospace & Defense

China’s New ‘Flying Wing’ Xi’an H-20 Stealth Bomber Is Now Frozen In a Development ‘Doom Loop’

Aerospace & Defense

Lockheed Wanted to Put the F-117 Nighthawk on US Navy Aircraft Carriers. It Proposed 255 of Them at $70,000,000 Each — Almost $17,900,000,000 — and Congress Set Aside $175,000,000 Just to Study Whether It Would Work. The Navy Said No Twice.

Aerospace & Defense

Combat Veteran US Air Force F-117 Nighthawk ‘Stealth Fighter’ Joins the National Air and Space Museum Collection at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Aerospace & Defense

F-117 Nighthawks Flew 2 Percent of Desert Storm’s Sorties and Hit 40 Percent of the Targets — More Than 1,500 of Them in 43 Nights, Without a Single Loss. 8 Years Later a 1961 Soviet Missile Shot 1 Down.

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Retired the F-117 Nighthawk in 2008 and Never Stopped Flying It. The Service Now Says the Aircraft Will Stay in the Air Until 2034 — 26 Years After Its Own Retirement.

Aerospace & Defense

The ‘Retired’ US Air Force F-117 Nighthawk ‘Stealth Fighter’ Will Now Fly Until 2034 Thanks To China’s J-20 and Russia’s Su-57

Aerospace & Defense

The US Navy Estimated $17,850,000,000 for an Aircraft Carrier-based F-117 Stealth Fighter. It Developed the F-35C Stealth Fighter Years Later for Billions More

Aerospace & Defense

‘Starve Before Doing Business With the Damned Navy’: The US Navy Spent $200,000,000 on a Stealth Warship That Only Had a Crew of 4 But Ended Up as Scrap as Even Museums Didn’t Want It

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force Hid a Secret Stealth Aircraft for 14 Years — The ‘Whale’ Had a Radar Signature Smaller Than a Bat

Aerospace & Defense

The US Air Force F-117 Stealth Fighter Was Supposed to Have Retired in 2008. The New Date Is Really 2034 Thanks to China and Russia

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