During 1976, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued Lockheed with a contract to produce the Have Blue technology demonstrator, the test data from which validated the concept.

The aircraft's faceted shape (made from two-dimensional flat surfaces) heavily contributes to its relatively low radar cross-section of about 0.001 m2 (0.0108 sq ft).

The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Gulf War of 1991, having flown around 1,300 sorties and scored direct hits on what the US military described as 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq.

By the 1970s, when Lockheed analyst Denys Overholser found Ufimtsev's paper, computers and software had advanced significantly, and the stage was set for the development of a stealth airplane.

The following year, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued Lockheed Skunk Works a contract to build and test two Stealth Strike Fighters, under the code name "Have Blue".

[25][26] The decision to produce the F-117 was made on 1 November 1978, and a contract was awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, popularly known as the Skunk Works, in Burbank, California.

[9][31][29] The first YF-117A, serial number 79-10780, made its maiden flight from Groom Lake (Area 51), Nevada, on 18 June 1981,[32][33] only 31 months after the full-scale development decision.

When an F-117 crashed in Sequoia National Forest in July 1986, killing the pilot and starting a fire, the USAF established restricted airspace.

[37] The USAF denied the existence of the aircraft until 10 November 1988, when Assistant Secretary of Defense J. Daniel Howard displayed a grainy photograph at a Pentagon press conference, disproving the many inaccurate rumors about the shape of the "F-19".

[34][43] As the USAF has stated, "Streamlined management by Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, combined breakthrough stealth technology with concurrent development and production to rapidly field the aircraft...

This is an inconsistency that has been repeatedly employed by the USAF with several of its attack aircraft since the late 1950s, including the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark.

A televised documentary quoted project manager Alan Brown as saying that Robert J. Dixon, a four-star USAF general who was the head of Tactical Air Command, felt that the top-notch USAF fighter pilots required to fly the new aircraft were more easily attracted to an aircraft with an "F" designation for fighter, as opposed to a bomber ("B") or attack ("A") designation.

[45][46] Early on, one potential air-to-air mission considered for the F-117 was to hunt down the Soviet A-50 "Mainstay" airborne warning and control system.

[49] As with other exotic military aircraft types flying in the southern Nevada area, such as captured fighters, an arbitrary radio call of "117" was assigned.

[50] When the USAF first approached Lockheed with the stealth concept, Skunk Works Director Kelly Johnson proposed a rounded design.

To obscure the engine from enemy radar, a conductive metal mesh grill was installed in the intake, while the exhaust gases were intentionally mixed with cool air to lower the thermal signature.

[62] To maintain a high level of secrecy, components were often rerouted from other aircraft programs, ordered using falsified addresses and other details, while $3 million worth of equipment was removed from USAF storage without disclosing its purpose.

[76] During the program's early years, from 1984 to mid-1992, the F-117 fleet was based at Tonopah Test Range Airport, Nevada, where it served under the 4450th Tactical Group; Air Combat Command's only F-117A unit.

[96] During the Gulf War in 1991, the F-117 flew roughly 1,300 sorties and scored direct hits on what the U.S. called 1,600 high-value targets in Iraq[2] over 6,905 flight hours.

[98]: 136–137  In their Desert Storm white paper, the USAF stated, "the F-117 was the only airplane that the planners dared risk over downtown Baghdad" and that this area was particularly well defended.

Post facto intelligence showed that Saddam Hussein had been at Dora Farms, but left several hours prior to the bombing.

Though advanced for its time, the F-117's stealthy faceted airframe required a large amount of maintenance and was eventually superseded by streamlined shapes produced with computer-aided design.

[79] PBD 720 called for 10 F-117s to be retired in FY2007 and the remaining 42 in FY2008, stating that other USAF planes and missiles could stealthily deliver precision ordnance, including the B-2 Spirit, F-22, and JASSM.

Brigadier General David L. Goldfein, commander of the 49th Fighter Wing, said at the ceremony, "With the launch of these great aircraft today, the circle comes to a close—their service to our nation's defense fulfilled, their mission accomplished, and a job well done.

"[114] Unlike most other USAF aircraft that are retired to Davis-Monthan AFB for scrapping, or dispersal to museums, most of the F-117s were placed in "Type 1000" storage[115] in their original hangars at the Tonopah Test Range Airport.

[121] Congress had ordered that all F-117s mothballed from 30 September 2006 onwards were to be maintained "in a condition that would allow recall of that aircraft to future service" as part of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act.

[123][122] In March 2019, four F-117s reportedly had been secretly deployed to the Middle East in 2016, and that one had to make an emergency landing at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait sometime late that year.

The aircraft would be optionally fitted with hardpoints, allowing for an additional 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of payload, and a new ground-attack radar with air-to-air capability.

RAF exchange officers began flying the F-117 in 1987,[39] but the British declined an offer during the Reagan administration to purchase the aircraft.

[156] "Wobblin' (or Wobbly) Goblin" is likely a holdover from the early Have Blue / Senior Trend (FSD) days of the project when instability was a problem.