USAF retires F-117 after 27 years of service.

[F-15 Eagle]

The U.S. Air Force bid farewell Tuesday to F-117, the world's first attack aircraft employing stealth technology after it served 27 years.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, which manages the F-117 program, hosted an informal retirement ceremony with military leaders, base employees and representatives from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
The last F-117s scheduled to fly will leave Holloman on April 21, stop in Palmdale, California, for another retirement ceremony, then arrive on April 22 at their final destination Tonopah Test Range Airfield in Nevada.
The U.S. Air Force decided to speed up the retirement of the F-117s to free up funding to modernize the rest of the fleet.
The F-117 is being replaced by the F-22 Raptor, but the government said it could bring the F-117 out of retirement if needed. The aircraft made its first flight at the Tonopah Test Range in June 1981. The program remained classified until November 1988, when a photo of the jet was first unveiled to the public.

 

[eckherl]

The U.S. Air Force bid farewell Tuesday to F-117, the world's first attack aircraft employing stealth technology after it served 27 years.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, which manages the F-117 program, hosted an informal retirement ceremony with military leaders, base employees and representatives from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
The last F-117s scheduled to fly will leave Holloman on April 21, stop in Palmdale, California, for another retirement ceremony, then arrive on April 22 at their final destination Tonopah Test Range Airfield in Nevada.
The U.S. Air Force decided to speed up the retirement of the F-117s to free up funding to modernize the rest of the fleet.
The F-117 is being replaced by the F-22 Raptor, but the government said it could bring the F-117 out of retirement if needed. The aircraft made its first flight at the Tonopah Test Range in June 1981. The program remained classified until November 1988, when a photo of the jet was first unveiled to the public.

For how long it took them to give us a visual on this aircraft you can only amagine what other juicy suprises the U.S is currently working on.

 

[F-15 Eagle]

For how long it took them to give us a visual on this aircraft you can only amagine what other juicy suprises the U.S is currently working on.

True, I bet they have working allien space ships(UFO's) at area 51.

 

[s3kiz]

True, I bet they have working allien space ships(UFO's) at area 51.

Time to google earth 24/7 again...ahh the sleepless nights. nfloorl:

 

[F-15 Eagle]

I wounder how much money retiring the F-117 will really save for the F-22 and F-35 programs?

I know they can't put the money into the F-22 because the production line will start to close be October of this year. It might go to the F-35 though.

 

[Ozzy Blizzard]

For how long it took them to give us a visual on this aircraft you can only amagine what other juicy suprises the U.S is currently working on.

Yeah, I always thought that! Loved hearing those stories from the guys who sit out on the fence line at dreamland all night talking about hypersonics and UFO like maneuverability. I guess we'll find out how much was just black aircraft ledgend and how much will turn out to be a real platform. I wonder how much truth there is behind the "Auroura" hypersonic strike/recon aircraft?

Anyway its sad to see the old girl go. One of the best (or ugliest) looking aircraft ever IMO, just becasue it looks so friggin cool! We're looseing some ledgendary fighters lately with the tomcat gone and now the nighthawk. Oh well on to bigger and better things i gues.

 

[Firehorse]

F-117 Stealth fighter quietly slips into history

Well, at least they don't chop them up! They may come handy later, especially if more B-2s are crashed & grounded!

 

[Lostfleet]

I wonder when we are going to see some F117s on Ebay but honestly I am getting more and more sad as my favorite cold war airplanes are going to the desert, first F14s and now F117s

 

[AegisFC]

F-117 Stealth fighter quietly slips into history

Well, at least they don't chop them up! They may come handy later, especially if more B-2s are crashed & grounded!

Doubt that they will be used later, from what I've read here and at other places the F-117 was a one trick pony that required a lot of support for a very limited mission.

 

[Cutaway]

They may be either exported, end up in museums or converted into "Stealth Drones" like the other planes but for enhanced missile target practice.

 

[eckherl]

Yeah, I always thought that! Loved hearing those stories from the guys who sit out on the fence line at dreamland all night talking about hypersonics and UFO like maneuverability. I guess we'll find out how much was just black aircraft ledgend and how much will turn out to be a real platform. I wonder how much truth there is behind the "Auroura" hypersonic strike/recon aircraft?

Anyway its sad to see the old girl go. One of the best (or ugliest) looking aircraft ever IMO, just becasue it looks so friggin cool! We're looseing some ledgendary fighters lately with the tomcat gone and now the nighthawk. Oh well on to bigger and better things i gues.

Well the U.S Airforce is stating that they want a new dedicated long range bomb thrower by the year 2018 so one could only amagine what they already have, there is speculation that it may in fact be a hyper sonic design.
I agree it was one ugly but modern looking bird, I tried to get a real good look at one that was parked at Peterson Airforce base in Colorado many years back, the guards were not impressed with my Army credentials and clearly informed me that if I even attempted to get too close that I would most likely either get shot or spend a few years at Leavenworth wondering why I would make such a idiotic mistake.:shudder

 

[eckherl]

True, I bet they have working allien space ships(UFO's) at area 51.

Maybe some of these.:unknown

 

[RubiconNZ]

Hmm, sad to see the Nighthawk go, but I guess time always catches up with everything I suppose, in another 10 years I wonder if the B-2's will be retiring due to advances in Detection capabilities. I wonder what they will do with the F117's I reckon there could still be some life in the airframes for retrofitted new technology demonstrators.

@eckherl, great pics from a purely aesthetic view some great aircraft there and ooh the possibilities for the performance of the aircraft

 

[Ozzy Blizzard]

@eckherl, great pics from a purely aesthetic view some great aircraft there and ooh the possibilities for the performance of the aircraft

The left and right pictures are meant to be the "Auroura" hypersonic strike/recon platform, with a mach 6+ top speed and a cruise altitude of 200 000ft+. I guess we'll see if it ever turnes out to be true.

 

[F-15 Eagle]

The left and right pictures are meant to be the "Auroura" hypersonic strike/recon platform, with a mach 6+ top speed and a cruise altitude of 200 000ft+. I guess we'll see if it ever turnes out to be true.

Maybe in 30 years if funding is avalible. Or make that 50 years.

 

[Ozzy Blizzard]

Maybe in 30 years if funding is avalible. Or make that 50 years.

There were reports that the platform is operational now (has been for 10+ years), but again that could just be black aircraft myth. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Firehorse]

I wonder what's the possibility of adding internally carried A2A missiles and a cannon to it? They could be exported or "leased" to Australia and/or Japan in liew, or in addition to, of F-22s!
BTW, they have the same engines as F-18s!

The Air Force [was] thinking is that it will phase out the Nighthawks after 2018.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-117.htm

 

[Ozzy Blizzard]

I wonder what's the possibility of adding internally carried A2A missiles and a cannon to it? They could be exported or "leased" to Australia and/or Japan in liew, or in addition to, of F-22s!
BTW, they have the same engines as F-18s!

No way, It doesent have a radar & you cant just put one in. Its taylor made to do a single, specific task, night HVT strike. Its maintinance manhours per flight hours are HUGE due to the stealth maintinance requirements. Basically its way too expenseive to run and it only does one job and only at night. It was build to adress a specific need and its horribly expenceive. The fact that it uses F-404 engines isnt that relivent, it uses the F-15's landing gear aswell. That small commonality wont make up for the huge cost and complications of maintaining the stealth.

 

[AegisFC]

No way, It doesent have a radar & you cant just put one in. Its taylor made to do a single, specific task, night HVT strike. Its maintinance manhours per flight hours are HUGE due to the stealth maintinance requirements. Basically its way too expenseive to run and it only does one job and only at night. It was build to adress a specific need and its horribly expenceive. The fact that it uses F-404 engines isnt that relivent, it uses the F-15's landing gear aswell. That small commonality wont make up for the huge cost and complications of maintaining the stealth.

It also used parts from the F-104 and other planes that are long out of production.

 

[Cutaway]

It also used parts from the F-104 and other planes that are long out of production.

The F-117 or the HaveBlue prototype?