The story
Lockheed's Skunk Works built it in total secrecy: it flew for seven years before the Air Force admitted it existed, in 1988. Every flat black facet is angled to throw radar energy away from whoever sent it, because the computers of the 1970s could only work out the math for flat panels. Officially retired in 2008, a handful still fly out of Nevada as training adversaries. If one is on your screen, go outside and look up.
The radar math came from a 1962 paper by a Soviet physicist, Pyotr Ufimtsev. Lockheed's engineers read it and built a jet designed to slip past his own country's radars.
Quick answers
How do you identify a F-117 Nighthawk?
All black, all flat panels, no curves anywhere. A sharp swept arrowhead wing, a V-shaped tail and sawtooth edges on every door. Subsonic and quiet. When one flies, it is almost always over Nevada or California.
What does a F-117 Nighthawk sound like?
Two non-afterburning GE F404s: a smooth, low jet hum, quieter than any fighter you've heard. It was built to be heard as little as it was seen.
How fast is the F-117 Nighthawk?
Top speed is Mach 0.92.
How far can the F-117 Nighthawk fly?
Range is about 930 nmi.
How big is the F-117 Nighthawk?
It is 65 ft 11 in long and 43 ft 4 in across the wings.
When did the F-117 Nighthawk first fly?
Its first flight was in 1981.
How many F-117 Nighthawks have been built?
64 built.
What do crews call the F-117 Nighthawk?
The Wobblin' Goblin.
How rare is a F-117 Nighthawk in Bogey?
LEGENDARY. The top tier. Spotters plan trips around a catch like this. Your first F-117 Nighthawk catch is worth 1,000 points.
