F-117

Following the Vietnam War and the Yom Kippur War, the USAF recognised the threat of increasingly sophisticated Soviet-made SAM systems. Therefore, a top-secret project for a strike aircraft that would be capable of bypassing enemy air defences was conceived in 1975. This culminated in the USAF issuing a secret contract to Lockheed in 1978 to produce what would later be known as the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk. The F-117 was the first operational aircraft in history to be designed with stealth technology; the airframe was designed to reduce its radar signature and was coated in radio-wave-absorbing materials. However, it had no radar equipment to prevent emission detection, while its speed was limited to subsonic levels to reduce its heat signature. Owing to its secrecy, much of the operational history of the F-117 remained classified until recent years. The F-117 was first deployed during Operation Just Cause in Panama and was later used in the Gulf War and the subsequent Iraq War, as well as the War in Afghanistan. Aside from one F-117 shot down in Yugoslavia during Operation Allied Force in 1999, the other 63 F-117s survived their sorties intact, proving the concept of stealth aircraft. After the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter entered service in 2005, the F-117 was retired from active service three years later, with the remaining aircraft being used for training purposes.

The F-117 Nighthawk was introduced in Update 2.41 "Firebirds" as the first stealth vehicle in War Thunder. The F-117 was designed for the sole purpose of remaining undetected by enemy air defences, and as such, it sacrificed the common characteristics of a jet strike aircraft to achieve this. The F-117 flies at subsonic speeds and has no air-to-air armament to minimise the chance of detection by enemy SAM systems. Because of this, it is incapable of performing air-to-air combat and is otherwise helpless when enemy pilots visually detect it. However, in close air support, the F-117's stealth capability makes it incredibly dangerous, as it is capable of evading detection by enemy radar to strike targets undetected, as well as having access to laser-guided munitions for accurate airstrikes.