Dragon 51051 Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk USAF 37th Tactical Fighter Wing

The military aircraft that should win the award for looking the most advanced and secretive is perhaps the F-117A Nighthawk, a type designed and built by Lockheed. This stealthy and lethal-looking twin-engine aircraft was designed for ground attack missions. The F-117A began US Air Force (USAF) operations in 1983 although its existence wasn#t revealed officially to the world until 1988.

Despite the 'F' in its nomenclature, this was a genuine ground attack aircraft rather than a fighter, and 64 examples were built. Its design limited it to subsonic speeds, but it could carry a 5,000lb payload of bombs in its internal bay. The first F-117As were delivered to the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing (37 TFW) in 1982, and the unit maintained strict secrecy at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada until November 1988, when the aircraft#s existence was officially acknowledged. Its first combat was Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, but it really rose to prominence during the 1991 Gulf War.