Editing Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (section)

=== Program closeout ===
The [[1999 F-117A shootdown|loss of an F-117 in Serbia]] caused the USAF to create a subsection of their existing weapons school to improve tactics. More training was done with other units, and the F-117 began to participate in [[Exercise Red Flag|Red Flag exercises]]. Though advanced for its time, the F-117's stealthy faceted airframe required a large amount of maintenance and was eventually superseded by streamlined shapes produced with [[computer-aided design]]. Other weapons systems began to take on the F-117's roles, such as the [[Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor|F-22 Raptor]] gaining the ability to drop guided bombs.<ref name="Miller 44" >Miller 1990, p. 44.</ref> By 2005, the aircraft was used only for certain missions, such as if a pilot needed to verify that the correct target had been hit, or when minimal [[collateral damage]] was vital.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="filling">{{cite journal |last= Ireton |first= Colin T. |url= http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj06/fal06/ireton.html |title= Filling the Stealth Gap |journal= Air and Space Power Journal |date= Fall 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150928004837/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj06/fal06/ireton.html |archive-date= 28 September 2015}}</ref>

The USAF had once planned to retire the F-117 in 2011, but Program Budget Decision 720 (PBD 720), dated 28 December 2005, proposed retiring it by October 2008 to free up an estimated $1.07&nbsp;billion<ref name="thehill" /> to buy more F-22s.<ref name="Topolsky" /> PBD 720 called for 10 F-117s to be retired in FY2007 and the remaining 42 in FY2008, stating that other USAF planes and missiles could stealthily deliver precision ordnance, including the [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit|B-2 Spirit]], F-22, and [[AGM-158 JASSM|JASSM]].<ref name="archive7" /> The planned introduction of the multirole [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35 Lightning II]] also contributed to the retirement decision.<ref name="boston" />

In late 2006, the USAF closed the F-117 formal training unit<!-- (FTU) -->,<ref name="airforcetimes" /> and announced the retirement of the F-117.<ref name="Bates" /> The first six aircraft to be retired took their last flight on 12 March 2007 after a ceremony at Holloman AFB to commemorate the aircraft's career. [[Brigadier General]] [[David L. Goldfein]], commander of the 49th Fighter Wing, said at the ceremony, "With the launch of these great aircraft today, the circle comes to a close—their service to our nation's defense fulfilled, their mission accomplished, and a job well done. We send them today to their final resting place—a home they are intimately familiar with—their first, and only, home outside of Holloman."<ref name="atn070316" />

[[File:American Flag F-117 Nighthawks.jpg|thumb |A pair of specially painted F-117s sporting a [[Flag of the United States|United States flag]] theme on their bellies fly off from their last refueling by the [[Ohio Air National Guard]]'s [[121st Air Refueling Wing]].]]
Unlike most other USAF aircraft that are retired to [[Davis-Monthan AFB]] for scrapping, or dispersal to museums, most of the F-117s were placed in "Type 1000" storage<ref>According to a statement by the USAF, "Aircraft in Type-1000 storage are to be maintained until recalled to active service, should the need arise. Type 1000 aircraft are termed inviolate, meaning they have a high potential to return to flying status and no parts may be removed from them. These aircraft are 're-preserved' every four years."</ref> in their original hangars at the Tonopah Test Range Airport.<ref name="loganlong">Logan 2009 pp.45-188</ref> At Tonopah, their wings were removed and the aircraft are stored in their original climate-controlled hangars.<ref name="atn070316" /> The decommissioning occurred in eight phases, with the operational aircraft retired to Tonopah in seven waves from 13 March 2007 until the last wave's arrival on 22 April 2008.<ref name="LATRetire" /><ref name="loganlong" /> Four aircraft were kept flying beyond April by the [[410th Flight Test Squadron]] at Palmdale for flight test. By August, two were remaining. The last F-117 (AF Serial No. 86-0831) left Palmdale to fly to Tonopah on 11 August 2008.<ref>Logan 2009 pp. 154</ref><ref name="flightglobal" /> With the last aircraft retired, the 410th was inactivated in a ceremony on 1 August 2008.<ref name="edwards" />

Five aircraft were placed in museums, including the first four YF-117As and some remains of the F-117 shot down over Serbia. Through 2009, one F-117 had been scrapped; AF Serial No. 79-0784 was scrapped at the Palmdale test facility on 26 April 2008. It was the last F-117 at Palmdale and was scrapped to test an effective method for destroying these planes.<ref>Logan 2008 pp. 66</ref>

Congress had ordered that all F-117s {{Linktext|mothballed}} from 30 September 2006 onwards were to be maintained "in a condition that would allow recall of that aircraft to future service" as part of the [[John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007|2007 National Defense Authorization Act]].  As of 2022, USAF plans to demilitarize three F-117s each year until 2034, when they should all be demilitarized.<ref name="demilitarizing">{{cite web |title=F-117 Nighthawk Archives |url=https://www.airandspaceforces.com/weapons-platforms/f-117/ |website=Air & Space Forces Magazine |access-date=1 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="durso20230110">{{Cite web |last=D'Urso |first=Stefano |date=10 January 2023 |title=The U.S. Air Force Wants The F-117 To Fly Until 2034 |url=https://theaviationist.com/2023/01/10/f-117s-will-keep-flying-at-least-until-2034/ |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=The Aviationist |language=en-US}}</ref>