Nighthawk’s Last Stand: Training for Peer Wars with China and Russia Until NGAD Arrives
The fifth-generation fighters impress with their advanced technologies and high-flying performance. Yet the F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational stealth aircraft ever built, still holds…
The fifth-generation fighters impress with their advanced technologies and high-flying performance. Yet the F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational stealth aircraft ever built, still holds a unique place in this domain. Designed in the 1970s by Lockheed’s legendary Skunk Works division and originally codenamed “Have Blue,” it entered service in 1983 after a secretive development program that cost around $6.6 billion for 59 production units. Although officially retired in 2008 during a ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, this engineering marvel continues to fly for training, testing, and occasional operational missions, defying expectations of obsolescence.
The…



