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The F-117 first flew in 1981 and fully entered service two years later, but the US Air Force didn t acknowledge the existence of the world s first operational stealth plane until 1988.
In 1993, Lockheed approached the US Navy with a proposal for a carrier-based iteration of the famed stealth fighter, but performance and technology issues kept the F-117N Seahawk from taking flight.
The introduction of the F-117 Nighthawk was a watershed moment in military aviation.
After years of competing to field faster moving, higher flying aircraft that could outrun or out climb enemy air defenses, the Nighthawk adopted a new approach to fighting in contested airspace: stealth. Using the most powerful computers of the era, Lockheed s Skunk Works developed an aircraft that could
Seahawk: Lockheed’s Plan to Put the F-117 Stealth Fighter on Carriers
In 1993, four years after the U.S. Air Force unveiled the Nighthawk to the world, Lockheed approached the U.S. Navy with a proposal for a carrier-based iteration of the famed “stealth fighter.”
The introduction of the F-117 Nighthawk was a watershed moment in military aviation. After years of competing to field faster moving, higher flying aircraft that could outrun or out climb enemy air defenses, the Nighthawk adopted a new approach to fighting in contested airspace: stealth. Using the most powerful computers of the era, Lockheed’s Skunk Works developed an aircraft that could