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 The F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter made its maiden flight over the Nevada test ranges twenty years ago on 18 June. Ten years later, it proved its worth in Operation Desert Storm, flying almost 1,300 sorties and scoring direct hits on 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq. Not one F-117 sustained combat damage during that six-week air war. Of the fifty-nine production F-117s procured by the Air Force, fifty-two are still in service. All F-117s are now based at the 49th FW at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. The three squadrons comprising the 49th—the 7th, 8th, and 9th FS—trace their heritage to the 49th Pursuit Group of the Pacific Theater in World War II. |
