F-117A Nighthawk Skunk Works 1990

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is an American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft that was developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-117 was based on the Have Blue technology demonstrator.
The Nighthawk was the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology. Its maiden flight took place in 1981 at Groom Lake, Nevada, and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983. The Nighthawk was shrouded in secrecy until it was revealed to the public in 1988. Of the 64 F-117s built, 59 were production versions, with the other five being prototypes.
The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. Although it was commonly referred to as the "Stealth Fighter", it was strictly a ground-attack aircraft. F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia, where one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) in 1999; it was the only Nighthawk to be lost in combat. The U.S. Air Force retired the F-117 in 2008, primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor.

831 was the only production F-117A modified for flight test in February 1988 and assigned to the JTF (Joint Test Force) "Baja Scorpions". Between November 27 and December 3, 1990, aircraft 831 had the Skunk Works logo applied to its underside. On December 6 the aircraft was flown to Area 51 to celebrate the retirement of Ben Rich, the company's president. The Skunk Works paint scheme was removed from the aircraft immediately after the celebrations had ended.

The SENIOR TREND Joint (later Combined) Test Force. (Detachment 2, R unit) was established in 1980 as joint test force of Lockheed and Air Force personnel at Groom Lake, Nevada (Det. 3, AFTFC). This acceptance test squadron with no name operated at Groom in the early days. In addition to developing the aircraft's weapons delivery and aerial refueling capabilities, the unit was responsible for flying and certifying each of the 59 production aircraft before they were turned over to Tactical Air Command (TAC). In February/March 1992 the nameless test unit moved from Groom Lake to Palmdale Plant 42 (As opposed to Holloman AFB with the rest of the F-117A community)