The F-117 Nighthawk retires?

Question

Ok it's being replaced by the F-22 and F-35 but that's a few years away before the squadrons become operational right? Does this mean there are gaps in the U.S. military air power strategy? What's going to happen to all those F-117s? and what are they going to have at Holloman Air Force Base.

Answer 1

The F-117A is 25 years old (the prototype 'Have Blue' was designed in the mid-seventies).  The stealth technology is old, the aircraft is slow and not very maneuverable if it is found, and it has a poor payload and no air-to-air capability.

The B2 remains in service for the heavy air-to-ground operations and the F-22 is now in service ready to take over from the F-117A.  The F-35 will ultimately be the F-117As permanent replacement.

Answer 2

the f-117 is old and would require up-grades to keep it going. even the b-2 requires avionic upgrades now for the technology is already 10 years old. as far as gaps the airforce has several squadrons of f-22's ready to go into combat and have even done several overseas deployments as exercises(not to the combat theater yet) but maybe soon. As far as Holloman I believe is going to be special ops main base with ac-130, pave lows, special recon 130, kc-130, and the new osprey's.

Answer 3

The F117 is being retired to pay for the F22-the CoS of the USAF said as much.   The USAF is betting on the F22 to be the wonder-weapon to handle all mission sets (including intel/surveillance/recce, even though it can't datalink to other aircraft-see backissues of JED) .

Dunno about strategy, the F117 (actually should be "B-3" the Stinkbug isn't designed for air/air) was designed to take down an Integrated Air Defense System so other, less stealthy aircraft can get through.  There are now (25 years later) other, ways to do this: primarily via JDAM, TLAM, or B2

UAVs can also potentially be used for IADs missions.  Which leads me to Holloman.  It will have some Pred/Reaper sqdns mostly likely belonging to AFSOC.  The AF wanted to just close it, but of course political pressure forced the AF (and the US taxpayer) to keep it operating.

The Stinkbugs will most likely go to museums, etc, with the latest models going into storage...

Answer 4

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a stealth ground attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force. The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved Initial Operational Capability status in October 1983. The F-117A came out of secrecy and was revealed to the world in November 1988.

As a product of the Skunk Works and a development of the Have Blue prototype, it became the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology. The F-117A was widely publicized during the Gulf War.

The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008, primarily due to the purchasing and eventual deployment of the more effective F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.

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First flown in 1983 the aircraft is now 25 years old and is a product of the first generation of stealth technology.  Age 25 is the point where most military aircraft are slated for replacement.  Although called a stealth "fighter" it has no guns or ornament other that the smart bombs it carries which are highly accurate.   This said the F-117 is really a strike aircraft.

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Answer 5

The f-117 has very limited capability and is difficult to maintain and does not have the safety features of the 22 and 35.

The F-117 has never stood out in any other way than its stealthiness, and it has been greatly surpassed by the 22 and 35 in every way.

The 117 was slow and was very limited because it had no radar.

There is simply no reason to keep the aircraft and have to maintain them when we can have a fleet of aircraft that have common parts and are easier to maintain in general, while also simplifying the training of pilots greatly.

Answer 6

no plane can beat the F117 in this day and age. it is the "stealthiest" of all the USAF's fighters, and the enemy can't hear it until it's too late. it wouldn't be a wise choice to retire it.

Answer 7

The 117's were retired to free up money for the F-22 and F-35 projects like you said.  Many of the remaining F-117s are  going to be stored at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada after their formal retirement ceremony in Palmdale CA .  Here is a short article about the retirement.

http://www.kfoxtv.com/military/11235292/...