[antubbs]

To their credit, the F-117 also wasn't a multirole fighter, was built in low quantities, wasn't planned for export uses, and was relatively quickly retired. It's a one-trick pony designed to sneak in, drop a precision bomb, and get out.

[masklinn]

> the F-117 also wasn't a multirole fighter, was built in low quantities [...] It's a one-trick pony designed to sneak in, drop a precision bomb, and get out.

These are all good things, though. It's a focused airframe absolutely excellent at what it does. Much like the A10 really.

> and was relatively quickly retired

Beg pardon? The F-117 reached operational capability in 1983 and was retired in 2008 (the original plan was 2011, it was retired earlier to free money to buy F22s). And they've flown as recently as 2010 around Nellis.

[spartango]

The focused airframe idea is not without a bunch of tradeoffs. The mission and target capabilities of the F-117 were extremely limited, which meant that the USAF had to have other aircraft around to pick up the rest of the missions.

Further, having a variety of specialized aircraft that do not share an airframe is a maintenance nightmare on the ground, as training and parts are necessary for each different kind of aircraft flown. Operating out of a major air base this is less of an issue, but with FOBs and aircraft carriers this is nigh impossible. Indeed, this was one of the motivating factors that drove the Navy to replace the A-6, F-14, EA-6B, and S-3B with aircraft derived from the F/A-18E/F line.

Yes, the F/A-18E will never have the unique capability of the F-14D, but apparently those planes were a massive pain to maintain. Similarly with the F-117 -> F-35. Beautiful beasts.

[mgoeppner]

25 years is a short lifespan for a military aircraft -- Most military aircraft have been in service between 30 and 50 years.

[jessaustin]

The Predator will probably make it to 25, but most models of the other drones that will dominate the wars of the future will have far shorter periods of military service.

[masklinn]

> 25 years is a short lifespan for a military aircraft

As of late, and not for a first-of-its-kind craft.