USAF retires the F-117 Nighthawk, the service’s first stealth combat aircraft, ending a 27-year career that included critical action during Operation Desert Storm.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall caught a ride in the front seat of a modified, artificial intelligence-piloted F-16 on May 2, a high-profile show of confidence in the service’s autonomous technologies—and another key step in maturing that technology for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.