Key Points and Summary - The F-117A Nighthawk was the Air Force’s answer to maturing Soviet air defenses: a low-observable, night precision-strike jet that could penetrate the hardest airspace and hit ...

The world's first stealth fighter serves on in 2026.

The United States Air Force's F-117 Nighthawk crawled so the F-22 Raptor could run. The Nighthawk was America's first invisible stealth jet, taking its first flight in 1981 and being fully operational ...

Lockheed's Skunk Works started its development of the F-117 Nighthawk in 1977 after the U.S. Air Force requested an undetectable fighter jet capable of wiping out high-value targets. The Air Force ...

Summary and Key Points You Need to Know: As the U.S. shifts focus from counterterrorism to potential near-peer conflicts with adversaries like China and Russia, stealth technology has become crucial ...

Unlike most aircraft, the F-117 wasn’t built for the primary purpose of flying. Instead, the F-117 was built for one purpose: invisibility to enemy radar. Accordingly, the design was shaped not for ...