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[[Image:f117.jpg|300px|thumb|right|F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter]]
[[Image:f117.jpg|300px|thumb|right|F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter]]
[[File:F-117 Stealth Fighter Serbia 1999.PNG|right|300px|thumb|10 years after its initial deployment, a $500 million F-117 Stealth Fighter was shot down by a 1950s Soviet era S-125 missile in the [[NATO war in Serbia]]. The S-125 missile defense system, now long out of production, resell for about $250,000 given their proven performance record. Production of the F-117 was shortly abandoned afterward.]]
[[File:F-117 Stealth Fighter Serbia 1999.PNG|right|300px|thumb|10 years after its initial deployment, a $500 million F-117 Stealth Fighter was shot down by a 1950s Soviet era S-125 missile in the [[NATO war in Serbia]]. The S-125 missile defense system, now long out of production, resell for about $250,000 given their proven performance record. Production of the F-117 was shortly abandoned afterward.]]
The Lockheed '''F-117A Nighthawk''' was the world's first operational aircraft based entirely on [[stealth technology]]. It was designed in the late 1970s by the highly creative [[Skunk Works]] engineering team at [[Lockheed Martin]], and first manufactured in 1981. It is flown exclusively by [[United States Air Force]]. They are nearly invulnerable, which softens their price tag of $40 million somewhat.
The Lockheed '''F-117A Nighthawk''' was the world's first operational aircraft based entirely on [[stealth technology]].<ref>Stealth technology was invented by Pyotr Ufimtsev, a Soviet Russian electrical engineer and mathematical physicist.</ref> It was designed in the late 1970s by the highly creative [[Skunk Works]] engineering team at [[Lockheed Martin]], and first manufactured in 1981. It is flown exclusively by [[United States Air Force]]. They are nearly invulnerable, which softens their price tag of $40 million somewhat.
Its "F-" label, usually reserved for fighters, may be for political purposes. The F-117A is not a fighter aircraft but is a "ground-attack" aircraft designed for precision bombing. However, the "F-" label is more politically popular and also may attract better pilots.
Its "F-" label, usually reserved for fighters, may be for political purposes. The F-117A is not a fighter aircraft but is a "ground-attack" aircraft designed for precision bombing. However, the "F-" label is more politically popular and also may attract better pilots.