U.S. wants to extend the life of Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk stealth attack aircraft until 2034

The U.S. Air Force intends to keep the Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk stealth aircraft until the middle of the next decade. The service is considering ways to keep the attack aircraft in service until 2034.

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One of the features of the Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk is that it began in service in 1983, although the military did not first acknowledge the attack aircraft's existence until five years later. In 2008, the U.S. removed all F-117s from service. For more than two decades, 64 aircraft were produced, and the cost of the development program was more than $6.5 billion.

The U.S. Air Force is seeking companies that are interested in a potentially 10-year contract to service Night Hawk beginning in 2024. The service has three requirements for contractors: maintenance to keep the F-117 in service; long-term storage; and finding defects that compromise the stealth of the attack aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force has about 45 F-117 Night Hawk aircraft. The service plans to unseal more than 10 of the attack aircraft and distribute them to museums, if museums so desire. It is possible that some F-117s will have to be scrapped.

Source: The Eurasian Times