L'Armed Services Committee of the Chamber decided to pull the plug on the F-117 program. According to the directives, all aircraft should be transferred to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, in Arizona (although it is unlikely to happen).
Until yesterday, the Pentagon kept a small fleet operational Nighthawk converted as an experimental tester to evaluate the ability of a radar system to detect and keep track of low observability flying objects. The F-117 still in service had also been equipped with new radar-absorbing materials and coatings applied to the structure. Finally, the unmanned conversion of some F-117 cells has never been confirmed.
I Nighthawk they have also been used by states to test new penetration tactics in highly protected systems. In the 2008, the Air Force officially retired the "black fleet" at the Test Range of Tonopah, Nevada.
L'Armed Services Committee of the House removed the previous requirement that the Air Force was required to "keep the fleet in a condition that would allow the resumption of flight operations". The Arizona desert, due to the particular climatic conditions, is considered optimal for the preservation of the aircraft. Circumstances that, however, will not be valid for the precious and delicate coating of the Nighthawk. That is why the Air Force proposed to dismantle the line, rather than allocate it to certain death in the desert. Some F-117 will be sold to museums in the country.
The story of the first plane ends with a stroke of the pen stealth operating in the world. The United States built sixty-four F-117 and five prototypes. An F-117 was shot down over Serbia in the 1999.
(photo: Lockheed Martin)
