US Army To Replace Retired F-117 Aircrafts With F-22 Raptor

Atlanta, GA 3/11/2008 04:07 PM GMT (FINDITT)
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The U.S. Army is retiring the F-177 fighter pilot, replacing it with the F-22 Raptor, which has the same stealth technology.

The F-177 Nighthawk, the world's first attack aircraft, has been in service for 27 years and patrolled the skies over Panama, Serbia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It was also the first stealth aircraft designed to overcome radar by deflecting it away with its faceted appearance.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, the base that manages the F-117 program, will have an informal, private retirement ceremony on Tuesday.

The last F-117s scheduled to fly will leave Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico on April 21. They will stop in Palmdale, CA for another retirement ceremony, then arrive on April 22 at their final destination: Tonopah Test Range Airfield in Nevada, where the jet made its first flight in 1981.

The F-22 Raptor was initially referred as the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) and was designed to meet a USAF requirement for 750 new fighters to replace the F-15 Eagle.

The F-22 is designed to cruise at up to Mach 1.5 without use of the afterburner, and its unusual layout is designed for agility as well as to incorporate stealth characteristics. The F-22B, a planned two-seat trainer version, was cancelled.

For more pictures of the F-117 Nighthawk and the F-22 Raptor, please check the picture gallery.