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 for the USAF in 1983. Its details, and even its existence, were kept close to the chest until 1988, when the U.
S. government finally acknowledged its existence. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works designed it to counter threats from the Soviet Union during the Cold War and though it had to operate at night, was the centerpiece for the first Gulf War.
There, the Nighthawk performed more like a bomber than a fighter , dropping bombs on communication centers and storage facilities. The USAF finally decided to retire the Nighthawk in 2008 because there were more advanced stealth platforms taking to the skies, including the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. The Air Force transferred 52 Nighthawks to the Tonopah Test Range – also known as Area 52, where the Air Force tests nuclear weapon systems and foreign systems — and maintained them in working condition in case they needed to return to service as required by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2007.
However, the NDAA was eventually repealed, which allowed the USAF to scrap the first stealth fighter. Of the remaining 40 Nighthawks sitting at the test range, 10 have been approved for sale to museums. However, the USAF has found further use for the F-117 Nighthawk, breathing new life into the outdated stealth platform.
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