The US wants to extend the life of the Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk stealth attack aircraft until 2034
The US 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.
One of the features of the Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk is that the operation began in 1983, although the military first recognized the fact of the existence of the attack aircraft only 5 years later. In 2008, the US retired all F-117s. In 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 interested in a potentially 10-year contract to maintain the Night Hawk starting in 2024. The service has three requirements for contractors: maintenance to keep the F-117 in working order; long-term storage; search for defects that violate the attack aircraft’s stealth.
The US Air Force maintains approximately 45 F-117 Night Hawk aircraft. The service plans to declassify more than 10 attack aircraft and give them away to museums, if the museums so desire. It is possible that part of the F-117 will have to be scrapped.
