Air Force F-117 Stealth Fighter Retires - F-22 F-35 Replace

After years of service, some of it top secret, the United States Air Force is to retire the F-117A Nighthawk, the first so-called Stealth Fighter, in April 2008. Built by the famous Lockheed “Skunk Works“ in a classified program, the plane pioneered low observable technologies now applied to the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), and B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. Retirement of the F-117, occasionally called the Wobbly Goblin, is intended to save the Air Force funds for other programs.