General Characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 65 ft 11 in (20.09 m)
• Wingspan: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m)
• Height: 12 ft 9.5 in (3.90 m)
• Wing area: 780 ft² (72.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 29,500 lb (13,380 kg)
• Loaded weight: 52,500 lb (23,800 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F404-F1D2 turbofans, 10,600 lbf (48.0 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 0.92 (617 mph, 993 km/h)
• Cruise speed: Mach 0.92
• Range: 930 nmi (1720 km)
• Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,716 m)
• Wing loading: 67.3 lb/ft² (329 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.40

Armament

• 2 × internal weapons bays with one hardpoint each (total of two weapons) equipped to carry:
  • Bombs:
    • GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb with 2,000 lb Mk84 blast/fragmentation or BLU-109 or BLU-116 Penetrator warhead
    • GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb with 500 lb Mk82 blast/fragmentation warhead
    • GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb with 2,000 lb Mk84 blast-fragmentation or BLU-109 or BLU-116 Penetrator warhead
    • GBU-31 JDAM INS/GPS guided munition with 2,000 lb Mk84 blast-frag or BLU-109 Penetrator warhead
    • B61 nuclear bomb

F-117N “Seahawk”

The United States Navy tested the F-117 in 1984 but determined it was not suitable for carrier use. In the early 1990s, Lockheed proposed an upgraded, carrier-capable variant of the F-117 dubbed the “Seahawk” to the Navy as an alternative to the canceled A/F-X program. The unsolicited proposal was received poorly by the Department of Defense, which had little interest in the single mission capabilities of such an aircraft, particularly as it would take money away from the Joint Advanced Strike Technology program, which evolved into the Joint Strike Fighter.

The new aircraft would have differed from the land-based F-117 in several ways, including the addition “of elevators, a bubble canopy, a less sharply swept wing and reconfigured tail”. The “N” variant would also be re-engined to use General Electric F414 turbofans instead of the older General Electric F404s. The aircraft would be optionally fitted with hardpoints, allowing for an additional 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of payload, and a new ground-attack radar with air-to-air capability. In that role the F-117N could carry AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles.

After being rebuffed by the Navy, Lockheed submitted an updated proposal that included afterburning capability and a larger emphasis on the F-117N as a multi-mission aircraft, rather than just an attack aircraft. To boost interest, Lockheed also proposed an F-117B land-based variant that shared most of the F-117N capabilities. This variant was proposed to the USAF and the Royal Air Force.Several RAF exchange officers flew the F-117 during its service, two RAF pilots formally evaluated the aircraft in 1986 as a reward for British help with the American bombing of Libya that year, and the British declined an offer during the Reagan administration to purchase the aircraft. This renewed F-117N proposal was also known as the A/F-117X. Neither the F-117N nor the F-117B were ordered.

United States

YF-117A

• 79-10780 Scorpion 1 – on pedestal display on Nellis Boulevard, at the entrance to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It was put in place 16 May 1992, the first F-117 to be made a gate guardian.
• 79-10781 Scorpion 2 – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside Dayton, Ohio. It was delivered to the museum on 17 July 1991.
• 79-10782 Scorpion 3 – Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was repainted to resemble the first F-117A used to drop weapons in combat. This aircraft was used for acoustics and navigation system testing. While wearing a flag painted on its bottom surface, this aircraft revealed the type’s existence to high-ranking officials at Groom Lake on 14 December 1983, the first semi-public unveiling of the aircraft. It was placed on display at Holloman AFB on 5 April 2008.
• 79-10783 Scorpion 4 – It had been previously on display at the Blackbird Airpark Museum at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California. In June 2012, Scorpion 4 was transported from Blackbird Airpark to Edwards AFB for restoration work; it is planned for the aircraft to be displayed at the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum.

Serbia

F-117A

• 82-0806 Something Wicked – shot down over Serbia; the remains are displayed at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade close to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.