The F-117 Nighthawk was first flown in 1981 and did not become know to the public until 1988. It was the world's first operational stealth aircraft that was used in the early 1990's by the United States to attack targets undetected. Only 59 of these aircrafts were produced and currently they have been replaced by the F-22 Raptor. These aircrafts were used during Operation Desert Storm, in Kosovo, in Afghanistan and during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This aircraft would rely on a Honeywell inertial navigation system that used infrared to locate targets as well as navigate the plane. Before flights, pilots would program the mission control computer on the aircraft. This would allow autopilot to take over until they had to control the plane and its weapons upon target arrival.