Air Force F-117 Stealth Fighter Retires - F-22 F-35 Replace

After years of service, some of it top secret, the United States Air Force is to retire the F-117A Nighthawk, the first so-called Stealth Fighter, in April 2008. Built by the famous Lockheed "Skunk Works" in a classified program, the plane pioneered low observable technologies now applied to the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), and B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. Retirement of the F-117, occasionally called the Wobbly Goblin, is intended to save the Air Force funds for other programs.
For more videos, airplane pictures, our free photo gallery and discussion forum, please visit AeroSpaceNews.com and be sure to follow us on Twitter!
Note: This is an episode from our archive March 2008