The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a twin engine aircraft that was developed by Lockheed Martin and used by the United States Air Force. The F-117 was primarily used for its stealth and artillery. Since 1983, there has been a total of 64 F-117 built, (5 being prototypes and 59 being production versions). The total or average cost for one F-117 is around $111.2 million dollars. Nonetheless, the F-117 was initially used in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. The F-117 also became popular when tension were high in Yugoslavia, where one F-117 ended up being shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Moreover, the F-117 has a top speed of 617mph and has a ceiling of 45,000 feet. The aircraft is powered by two General Electric F404 engines that produce 10,500lbf to 19,000lbf of thrust. Additionally, the F-117 has a wingspan of 43 feet and 4 inches (13.3 meters), a length of 65 feet and 11 inches (20.3 meters), and a height of 12 feet and 5 inches (3.8 meters). On top of this the aircraft weighs 52,500 pounds (23,625 kilograms). Further, the F-117 comes equipped with multifarious amounts of armaments, which include: air-to-surface misses, guided- bombs, laser-guided bombs, and more. The F-117 also uses many types of stealth technology. For one, the F-117 has a radar-cross section of about 0.0108 square feet making the stealth bomber almost undetectable. The F-117 has a very low wing aspect ratio and a high sweep angle, which deflects the incoming radar waves. The aircraft also has no afterburners. The F-117 also goes as far as making the tailpipes slitted instead of circular to reduce IR signature. Lastly, the F-117 Nighthawk is said to be retired as of 2008. However, some news outlets state that the F-117 Nighthawk is still flying after its retirement.
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