The U.S. Air Force is transferring the combat aircraft to the national collection. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works prepared it for transport and museum display.
“Skunk Works restored F-117A Aircraft 818, The Overachiever, for its next mission: permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center,” Lockheed Martin said. The work gives the aircraft a new role after a service history spanning every major conflict involving the F-117.
The Air Force Reserve’s 512th Airlift Wing will transport the Nighthawk from the Skunk Works facility to Dulles International Airport aboard a C-5 Galaxy. The F-117 will be partially disassembled before the flight.
Museum personnel will reassemble the aircraft inside the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar after it arrives. The public will be able to observe the work through the hangar’s glass overlook before the aircraft is placed on the exhibition floor.
The F-117 was the world’s first true operational stealth combat aircraft. Its low-observable design allowed it to enter defended airspace and strike strategic targets or air-defense systems before other aircraft followed.
The aircraft demonstrated the operational value of stealth and shaped later generations of military aviation. Its ability to attack air-defense networks gave commanders a new option for opening contested airspace.
“The Overachiever” is the only F-117 known to have flown combat missions in all four major conflicts involving the Nighthawk. These were Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in 1991, Operation Allied Force over Yugoslavia in 1999 and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq in 2003.
“The Nighthawk could be the tip of the spear, taking out enemy defenses before they knew what hit them or it could destroy selective strategic targets, helping achieve objectives with unmatched precision,” said Chris Browne, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the National Air and Space Museum. “Adding this breakthrough aircraft to the national collection will ensure generations to come know its amazing story.”
The donation was announced during the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The museum plans to complete the aircraft’s reassembly before opening the display in late October.
