Editing Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (section)

=== Yugoslavia ===
{{main|1999 F-117A shootdown}}
[[File:F-117 Canopy (shot down over Serbia 1999, Museum of Aviation, Belgrade).jpg|thumb|Canopy of F-117 shot down in [[Serbia]] in March 1999 at the [[Aeronautical Museum Belgrade|Museum of Aviation in Belgrade]]]]

One F-117 (AF ser. no. 82-0806) was lost to enemy action. It was downed during an [[1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|Operation Allied Force]] mission against the [[Army of Yugoslavia (FRY)|Army of Yugoslavia]] on 27 March 1999.<ref name="logan105">Logan 2009 pp.105</ref> The aircraft was acquired by a [[fire-control radar]] at a distance of {{cvt|13|km|order=flip}} and an altitude of {{cvt|8|km|ft|order=flip}}. SA-3s were then launched by a Yugoslav version of the Soviet [[S-125 Neva/Pechora|Isayev S-125 "Neva"]] (NATO name SA-3 "Goa") antiaircraft missile system.<ref name="logan105"/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/27/nato.attack.07/index.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121010023957/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/27/nato.attack.07/index.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 10 October 2012 |publisher= [[CNN]] |title= NATO air attack shifts, aims at violence inside Kosovo |date= 27 March 1999}}</ref><ref name="Dani" /> The launcher was run by the 3rd Battalion of the [[250th Air Defence Missile Brigade]] under the command of Colonel [[Zoltán Dani]].<ref name="archive" /> After the explosion, the aircraft became uncontrollable, forcing the pilot to eject. The pilot was recovered six hours later by a [[United States Air Force Pararescue]] team.<ref name="logan105"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Whitcomb |first1=Darrel |title=The Night They Saved Vega 31 |website=airforcemag.com |publisher=Air Force Association |url=http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2006/December%202006/1206vega.aspx |access-date=12 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422090625/http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2006/December%202006/1206vega.aspx |archive-date=22 April 2013}}</ref> The stealth technology from the downed F-117 has reportedly been studied by Russia,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/01/2001-%20The%20Case%20of%20the%20Missing%20F-117.pdf |title= Russians admit testing F-117 lost in Yugoslavia |date= 2001 |publisher= Flight Global}}</ref> and possibly China.<ref name="chinadigitaltimes" /> The U.S. did not attempt to destroy the wreckage; senior Pentagon officials claimed that its technology was already dated and no longer important to protect.{{r|afmag-richelson}}

American sources state that a second F-117 was targeted and damaged during the campaign, allegedly on 30 April 1999.<ref name="newsbank" /><ref name="thedrive2020">{{cite web |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37894/yes-serbian-air-defenses-did-hit-another-f-117-during-operation-allied-force-in-1999 |title=Yes, Serbian Air Defenses Did Hit Another F-117 During Operation Allied Force In 1999 |website=The Drive |date=1 December 2020}}</ref> The aircraft returned to [[Spangdahlem Air Base]],<ref name="thedrive2020" /> but it supposedly never flew again.<ref name="description" /><ref name="airforces6" /> The USAF continued using the F-117 during Operation Allied Force.<ref name=Donald_p119>{{harvnb|Donald|2003|p=119}}</ref>