With the extensive development of technology, the upgrading of weapons and equipment will inevitably be put on the agenda, and those equipment that cannot adapt to the new combat environment will eventually be replaced by newer weapons. However, for the F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft, its fate is even more brutal, because it has withdrawn from the historical stage without 30 years of service. Why is the F-117 so short-lived compared to the 50-year service life of other attacks of the same type?
As we all know, the F-117 is the world's first fighter with stealth combat performance, creating a new process of fighter development, so people sent the nickname "Nighthawk". In 1981, the F-117 Nighthawk made its maiden flight and officially joined the battle line two years later. Since then, the United States has successively developed 41 F-117 attack aircraft, which have appeared in many local wars such as the Gulf War and the Kosovo War, and have played an extremely important role.
In order to highlight the stealth performance as much as possible, the designers built the cockpit of the aircraft into a pyramid structure and used a windshield structure of five-piece metal coated glass, thus avoiding the so-called "hole" effect. However, the defects of the F-117 attack aircraft are also more obvious, such as effectively blocking the flight field of view, resulting in difficulties in driving the aircraft; restricting the aerodynamic exertion, resulting in unstable performance. Therefore, the US military generally uses it in the overall air combat system, and if it is used to carry out tasks alone, it is likely that there will be no return, and the danger is very prominent.
It is reported that the fighter also has the drawbacks of serious shortage of bomb load and ultra-high maintenance expenditure. With the rapid development of the times, the stealth combatability of the F-117 has lagged behind the more powerful technical capabilities of anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, the fighter has also suffered many crashes caused by improper handling of personnel, so the US military has completely lost interest in it. In the context of the endless emergence of new weapons and equipment, the F117 is indeed outdated, and the US military no longer continues to waste energy and money on the development of the aircraft, but concentrates its advantages on other weapons.