Following the Vietnam War and the Yom Kippur war, the USAF recognize the threat of an increasingly sophisticated Soviet-made SAM systems. Therefore, a top secret project for a strike aircraft that would be capable of bypassing the enemy air defense was conceived in 1975. This culminated into the USAF issuing a secret contract for Lockheed to produce what would be later known as the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk in 1978. The F-117 was the first operational aircraft in history to be designed with stealth technology; the airframe was designed to reduce the radar signature and is coated in radio-wave absorbing materials. However, it doesn't have any radar equipment to prevent emission detection, while its speed were limited to subsonic to reduce heat signature. Owing to its secrecy, much of the operational history of the F-117 was classified until recent years. The F-117 was first deployed during Operation Just Cause in Panama, and were later used in the Gulf War and the subsequent Iraq war, as well as War in Afghanistan. Aside from one F-117 shot down in Yugoslavia during Operation Allied Force in 1999, the other 63 remaining F-117 survived the sortie 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 remain undetected by enemy air defense, and as such it sacrifice the common characteristic of a jet strike aircraft to achieve this. The F-117 fly in subsonic speed and has no air-to-air armament to minimalize the chance of detection by enemy SAM systems. Because of this, it is incapable of performing air-to-air combat and are otherwise helpless when enemy pilots visually detects it. However, in close air support, the F-117's stealth capability made it incredibly dangerous, as it is capable of evading detection from enemy radar to strike them undetected, as well as having an access to laser-guided munition for accurate airstrike.