The complete list of statistics:

The F-117 was designed, built and entered service in fair numbers and operated for several years, all in almost complete secrecy. There were rumors about an F-19 and many artists' impressions (which were highly inaccurate), but that disinformation only aided the secrecy. The NightHawk, as it was unofficially named, started in 1973 as a design study codenamed Have Blue, which was supposed to determine how much an aircraft could be made invisible to radar and IR detection systems. The result: two Experimental Stealth Tactical (XST) prototypes which first flew in mid-1977. Results being satisfactory, the decision to develop a production aircraft was taken about one year later, and this first flew from Groom Lake (Area 51) in June of 1981.

If you want to know completely everything about the F-117A, then go here. This is just a summary.

The F-117 project began in July of 1975, six months after Kelly Johnson retired and Ben Rich took over the Skunk Works. Rich discovered that, while the US had 2 fully developed defensive ground-to-air missile systems, the USSR had 16! Plus, studies show that if a war broke out between the US and Russia, the US Air Force would be completely wiped out in 17 days! And, since we had to be the best, we developed the F-117A.

So, that April, Denys Overholser, the Skunk Works mathematician and radar specialist gave Rich the information for a stealth fighter, and airplane that would be so difficult to detect, it would be virtually invisible to enemy defenses. Guess where Overholser got the idea-a Russian scientist, Pyotr Ufimstev. He had published a long, dense, technical paper on theoretical optics, we got hold of it (which was pretty easy, since Senior Soviet designers were absolutely uninterested in his theories) and we got the formulas to accurately calculate the radar cross-section of a given configuration. The calculation created a design called faceting -- creating a three-dimensional airplane out of a collection of flat sheets or panels. That is why the F-117A looks so weird, because it is the first plane composed entirely of flat, angular surfaces.

Well, as you know, the project was a big success, although it is open to debate as to what was bigger: the success or the secrecy surrounding the project. Yes, it was a big success, because the radar cross section was as large as a 1/8 inch ball, but it was also the most highly guarded secrets of the United States. What do you think? Vote Below!

Anyway, the F-117A was revealed to the public as the F-117A in the Gulf War. Operation Desert Storm was a big success, thanks to the F-117A. Lockheed Martin's money was also a success, thanks to the F-117A, raking in over six billion dollars from contracts signed with the U.S. Air Force. The future, however, lies in the Navy with carrier versions of the plane, but the Navy, due to budget constraints, has showed not much interest.

The F-117A is very advanced, in computer programs, too. It requires only something which pilots call "babysitting", just making sure the computer program doesn't screw up. The F-117A's computer program can fly it to its destination, drop the bombs, and return. That is why only one pilot is required, and actually, it would fly pilotless, too. This computer program was so successful that the US Air Force bought it for use in all their planes.