Editing Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk (section)

== Operational history ==

===Early activities===
[[File:F-117A GBU-28.JPEG|thumb|An F-117 conducts a live-exercise bombing run using [[GBU-27 Paveway III|GBU-27]] laser-guided bombs.]]

During the program's early years, from 1984 to mid-1992, the F-117 fleet was based at Tonopah Test Range Airport, Nevada, where it served under the 4450th Tactical Group; [[Air Combat Command]]'s only F-117A unit.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=F-117A - Nighthawk |url=https://www.holloman.af.mil/About/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/317344/f-117a-nighthawk/ |access-date=2024-02-26 |website=Holloman Air Force Base |language=en-US}}</ref> The unit was headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base. [[A-7 Corsair II]] aircraft were used for training. Most personnel and their families lived in Las Vegas. This required commercial air and trucking to transport personnel between Las Vegas and Tonopah each week.<ref name="First Night">{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=W.B. |title=The First Nighthawks |journal=Aviation Week & Space Technology |date=2023 |volume=158 |issue=25 |pages=58–60}}</ref> The 4450th was absorbed by the [[37th Fighter Wing|37th Tactical Fighter Wing]] in 1989. In 1992, the entire fleet was transferred to [[Holloman Air Force Base]], [[New Mexico]], under the command of the [[49th Fighter Wing]].<ref name=":2"/>

The F-117 reached [[initial operating capability]] status in 1983.<ref name="Nat_Museum_factsht" /><ref name=":2" /> The Nighthawk's pilots called themselves "Bandits". Each of the 558 Air Force pilots who have flown the F-117 has a Bandit number, such as "Bandit 52", that indicates the sequential order of their first flight in the F-117.<ref name="Topolsky" /> Pilots told friends and families that they flew the [[Northrop F-5]] in [[aggressor squadron]]s against Tactical Air Command.<ref name="afmag-richelson">{{cite magazine |first=Jeffrey T. |last=Richelson |url=http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2001/July%202001/0701crash.aspx |title=When Secrets Crash |magazine=Air Force Magazine |date=July 2001 |access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref>

The F-117 has been used several times in war. Its first mission was during the United States invasion of Panama in 1989.<ref>Crockmore 2006 pp. 382</ref><ref name= "bomber 283">Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 283.</ref> During that invasion, at least two F-117s dropped bombs on Rio Hato airfield.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Healy |first=Melissa |date=24 Dec 1989 |title=1st Combat for Stealth Fighter--Panama Airfield Bombed |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2134-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030164459/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2134-story.html |archive-date=30 Oct 2021 |access-date=26 Feb 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=C. Wilson |first=George |date=24 Dec 1989 |title='Stealth' Plane Used in Panama |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/12/24/stealth-plane-used-in-panama/6e4157ad-df55-46b1-8ff5-beffb0340f9a/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408012554/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/12/24/stealth-plane-used-in-panama/6e4157ad-df55-46b1-8ff5-beffb0340f9a/ |archive-date=8 Apr 2022 |access-date=26 Feb 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

The aircraft was operated in secret from Tonopah for almost a decade; after the Gulf War, all aircraft moved to Holloman in 1992, but its integration with the USAF's nonstealth "iron jets" occurred slowly. As one senior F-117 pilot later said: "Because of ongoing secrecy, others continued to see the aircraft as 'none of their business, a stand-alone system'."<ref name=":0" /> The F-117 and members of the 49th Fighter Wing were deployed to Southwest Asia on multiple occasions. On their first deployment, with the aid of aerial refueling, pilots flew nonstop from Holloman to Kuwait, around an 18.5-hour flight.<ref name= "holloman">{{cite web |url= https://www.holloman.af.mil/About/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/317344/f-117a-nighthawk |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211106133830/https://www.holloman.af.mil/About/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/317344/f-117a-nighthawk/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= 6 November 2021 |title= F-117A - Nighthawk |publisher= holloman.af.mil |access-date= 21 September 2023}}</ref>

=== 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>

=== Iraq and Afghanistan ===
[[File:F-117A Nighthawks.jpg|thumb|upright|A pair of F-117s]]
During the [[Gulf War]] in 1991, the F-117 flew roughly 1,300 sorties and scored direct hits on what the U.S. called 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq<ref name="Nat_Museum_factsht" /> over 6,905 flight hours.<ref name="frontline" /> [[Leaflet drop]]s on Iraqi forces displayed the F-117 destroying ground targets and warned "Escape now and save yourselves".{{r|crickmorep2003}} Only 229 [[Coalition of the Gulf War|Coalition]] tactical aircraft could drop and designate laser-guided bombs, of which 36 F-117s represented 15.7%, and only the USAF had the I-2000 bombs intended for hardened targets. So, the F-117 represented 32% of all coalition aircraft that could deliver such bombs.<ref name="GAO/NSIAD-97-134">{{cite web |url= http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/ns97134.pdf |title= Operation Desert Storm Evaluation of the Air Campaign GAO/NSIAD-97-134 |publisher= General Accounting Office |date= 12 June 1997 |access-date= 28 January 2013 |archive-date= 16 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121016145619/http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/ns97134.pdf |url-status= dead}}</ref>{{rp|73–74}} Notably, F-117s were involved in the [[Amiriyah shelter bombing]], killing at least 408 civilians.<ref>Clark 1992, p. 70.</ref>

Much media attention was given to the bombing of telecommunications, water, and transportation infrastructure in Baghdad. Stealth bombers were used due to the perimeter of Baghdad being heavily defended with antiaircraft weapons. The bombings quickly became part of a propaganda battle, with media highlighting the killing of civilians and American claims that stealth bombing was highly effective at destroying military targets.<ref name="Arkin">{{cite journal |last1=Arkin |first1=William M. |title=Baghdad |journal=Airpower Journal |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=4}}</ref> Postwar records show that the F-117 had 18 times more targets per aircraft than their nonstealth peers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=RENNER, US AIR force |first1=Major R. A. |title=America's asymmetric advantage: The utility of airpower in the new strategic environment |journal=Defence Studies |date=January 2004 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=87–113 |doi=10.1080/1470243042000255281}}</ref>

Outside of Baghdad, the F-117 bombing was primarily used to destroy airfields, and it was used in conjunction with other air munitions. Overall, 42 F-117s dropped 2077 bombs in Desert Storm. This accounts for about a third of USAF guided bombing.<ref name="Arkin"/>

Early claims of the F-117's effectiveness were later found to be overstated.<ref name="nytimes" /> Initial reports of F-117s hitting 80% of their targets were later scaled back to "41–60%".<ref name="GAO/NSIAD-97-134" />{{rp|132}} On the first night, they failed to hit 40% of their assigned air-defense targets, including the Air Defense Operations Center in Baghdad, and eight such targets remained functional out of 10 that could be assessed.<ref name="GAO/NSIAD-97-134" />{{rp|136–137}} In their Desert Storm white paper, the USAF stated, "the F-117 was the only airplane that the planners dared risk over downtown Baghdad" and that this area was particularly well defended. (Dozens of F-16s were routinely tasked to attack Baghdad in the first few days of the war.)<ref name="GAO/NSIAD-97-134" />{{rp|137–138}} In fact, most of the air defenses were on the outskirts of the city and many other aircraft hit targets in the downtown area, with minimal casualties when they attacked at night like the F-117;<ref name="GAO/NSIAD-97-134" /> they avoided the optically aimed [[Anti-aircraft cannon#AA warfare systems|antiaircraft cannon]] and infrared SAMs, which were the biggest threat to Coalition aircraft.<ref name="GAO/NSIAD-97-134" />{{rp|105}}

The F-117 was used during [[Operation Enduring Freedom]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |last1=LaBoy |first1=Vanessa |title=Nighthawks return home |url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/139412/nighthawks-return-home/ |website=Air Force |publisher=USAF |access-date=30 March 2024 |date=18 April 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Have Blue and Stealth Technology |url=https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/have-blue |website=www.darpa.mil |publisher=DARPA |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> The Taliban lacked a modern Air Force. After the initial bombing campaign in October, targets justifying F-117 usage were limited as was the use of the F-117.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haulman |first1=Daniel |title=Aberrations in Iraq and Afghanistan |url=https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0812aberrations/ |website=Air & Space Forces Magazine |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>

The first bombs dropped in the 2003 [[Iraq War|Operation Iraqi Freedom]] were from two F-117 on the [[Dora, Baghdad|Dora Farms]] in an attempt to assassinate [[Saddam Hussein]]. The F-117 was chosen to deliver a bunker buster payload because nearby Baghdad was heavily fortified with antiaircraft weapons, and US intelligence indicated Saddam Hussein's bunker was too reinforced for missiles. The EGBU-27 Advanced Paveway III bunker buster is an unusual payload for the F-117. ''Post facto'' intelligence showed that Saddam Hussein had been at Dora Farms, but left several hours prior to the bombing.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=David |title=Ex-CIA officer on the strike that could have averted Iraq War - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-cia-officer-on-the-strike-that-could-have-averted-iraq-war/ |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=www.cbsnews.com |publisher=CBS |date=19 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kinkade |first1=Mark |title=The First Shot |journal=Airman |date=7 July 2003 |volume=47 |issue=7 |pages=24–29}}</ref> During this time, the Air Force estimated the operational cost as $35,000 per JDAM-style bomb delivered by the F-117.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fulghum |first1=David A. |title=Bombing costs escalate in Afghanistan operations |journal=Aviation Week & Space Technology |date=21 December 2001 |volume=155 |issue=24 |page=38}}</ref>

=== 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>

=== Post-retirement service===
The USAF is currently using the aircraft in [[aggressor squadron]] and [[cruise missile]] training, and research and development. USAF has also slowed the retirement of its current inventory of about 45 F-117s to two to three units a year. This plan should extend the lifetime of the F-117 program to 2034.{{r|durso20230110}}<ref name="demilitarizing"/>
In March 2019, four F-117s reportedly had been secretly deployed to the Middle East in 2016, and that one had to make an emergency landing at [[Ali Al Salem Air Base|Ali Al Salem]], Kuwait sometime late that year.<ref>{{cite web |first=Dario |last=Leone |url=https://theaviationgeekclub.com/one-of-the-f-117s-secretly-deployed-to-the-middle-east-to-take-part-in-oir-made-emergency-landing-in-kuwait-scramble-magazine-says |title="One of the F-117s secretly deployed to the middle East to take part in OIR made emergency landing in Kuwait", Scramble Magazine Says |website=The Aviation Geek Club |date=11 April 2019 |access-date=13 April 2019}}</ref>

[[File:A U.S. Air Force F-117 Nighthawk lands during Northern Edge 23-1 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 10, 2023.jpg|thumb|left|F-117 Nighthawk during Northern Edge 23-1 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, May 2023]]
On 13 September 2021, a pair of F-117s landed at [[Fresno Yosemite International Airport]] in California. They were scheduled to train with the [[California Air National Guard]] [[F-15]]C/D Eagles of the [[144th Fighter Wing]] over the next few days.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42410/behold-f-117s-on-their-historic-delpoyment-t0-fresno-in-these-stunning-photos |title= Behold F-117s on Their Historic Deployment to Fresno in These Stunning Shots |website=The Drive |date=16 September 2021}}</ref> One aircraft had red letters on its tail, and the other had white letters. One of the two was observed to not be fitted with radar reflectors.<ref>{{cite web |first=Tyler |last=Rogoway |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42360/f-117s-make-surprise-arrival-at-fresno-yosemite-airport-to-train-against-local-f-15s |website= The Drive |date=13 September 2021 |title=F-117s Make Surprise Appearance At Fresno Airport To Train Against Local F-15s |access-date=13 September 2021}}</ref> That year, USAF published photographs on [[DVIDS]], the first acknowledgement by the service that the aircraft continued to fly after its official retirement.{{r|durso20230110}}

In January 2022, two F-117s were observed in flight in the [[Saline Valley#Military use|Saline Military Operating Area]]. One had portions of its exterior covered in a "mirror-like coating" believed to be an experimental treatment to reduce the aircraft's infrared signature.<ref name="TheDriveFeb2022">{{cite web |last1=Rogoway |first1=Tyler |title=F-35 And F-117 Spotted Flying With Mysterious Mirror-Like Skin |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43938/f-35-and-f-117-spotted-flying-with-mysterious-mirror-like-skin |website=The Drive |date=23 January 2022 |access-date=19 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:F-117s tailing a KC-135.jpg|thumb|F-117s trailing a [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135 Stratotanker]], October 2023]]
In May 2022, an F-117 participated in exercise Savannah Sentry at the Air Dominance Center in Savannah, Georgia. It was a joint exercise with both active USAF and [[Air National Guard]] units. In a video documenting the exercise, an off-screen crew member stated that about 48 flyable F-117s are in USAF inventory. They stated that the F-117 is sometimes used in aggressor-type training roles and was brought to Savannah Sentry to participate in an "unclassified capacity".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Killian |first1=Mike |title=F-117 Nighthawk Up Close at Sentry Savannah 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJCWxH3TBLk |website=YouTube |date=May 7, 2022}}</ref> On 1 February 2024, two F-117s were seen at testing range R-2508 in the Mojave Desert.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.twz.com/air/the-most-stunning-f-117-photos-weve-seen-since-its-retirement |title=The Most Stunning F-117 Photos We've Seen Since Its 'Retirement' |publisher=The Warzone|date=4 February 2024}}</ref>