F-117 Nighthawk (Wallpaper 1) aircraft photo gallery | AirSkyBuster

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F-117 Nighthawk (Wallpaper 1). F-117 Nighthawk aircraft photo wallpaper gallery 1. F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter aircraft pictures and images collection 1. The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983. The F-117A was "acknowledged" and revealed to the world in November 1988. A product of Lockheed Skunk Works and a development of the Have Blue technology demonstrator, it became the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology. The F-117A was widely publicized during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. It was commonly called the "Stealth Fighter" although it was a ground-attack aircraft, making its F-designation misleading. The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008, primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor and the impending introduction of the F-35 Lightning II. Sixty-four F-117s were built, 59 of which were production versions with 5 demonstrators/prototypes. F-117 Nighthawk (Wallpaper 1). F-117 Nighthawk aircraft photo wallpaper gallery 1. F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter aircraft pictures and images collection 1. The operational aircraft had the official designation of "F-117A". Most modern U.S. military aircraft use post-1962 designations in which the designation "F" is usually an air-to-air fighter, "B" is usually a bomber, "A" is usually a ground-attack aircraft, etc. (Examples include the F-15, the B-2, and the A-6.) The F-117 is primarily a ground-attack aircraft so its "F" designation is inconsistent with the DoD system, but it is an inconsistency that has been repeatedly employed by the U.S. Air Force with several of its ground attack aircraft since the late 1950s, e.g., F-105, F-111, etc. The designation "F-117" seems to indicate that it was given an official designation prior to the 1962 U.S. Tri-Service Aircraft Designation System and could be considered numerically to be a part of the earlier "Century series" of fighters. The assumption prior to the revealing of the aircraft to the public was that it would likely receive the designation F-19 as that number had not been used. However there were no other aircraft to receive a "100" series number following the F-111. Soviet fighters obtained by the United States via various means under the Constant Peg program were given F-series numbers for their evaluation by U.S. pilots, and with the advent of the Teen Series fighters, most often Century Series designations. F-117 Nighthawk (Wallpaper 1). F-117 Nighthawk aircraft photo wallpaper gallery 1. F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter aircraft pictures and images collection 1.