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When Lockheed's F-117 Nighthawk entered service in 1983, it revolutionized military aviation by using stealth over speed to evade detection. This breakthrough stemmed from Denys Overholser at Lockheed's Skunk Works, who discovered Soviet physicist Pyotr Ufimtsev's work on radar wave diffraction.
Designing and building a stealth pole for the Air Force wasn’t an anticipated exercise for the Skunk Works team.
Flying the F-117 remained top secret for more than a decade. Like a vampire, it came out only at night so it wouldn’t be seen. Flights were canceled if the moon was too bright. Pilots were forbidden to tell even their families what they were doing.
If the F-117 ever did make a comeback it could take on Iran--but not Russia or China.
Although the F-117 Nighthawk was retired in 2008, would it still be useful today? The answer may surprise you.