1999 F - 117A shootdown The 1999 F - 117A shootdown was an incident that took place on 27 March 1999 , during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia , ( Operation Allied Force , Operation Noble Anvil ) , when an Army of Yugoslavia unit used a SA - 3 Goa to down a Lockheed F - 117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft of the United States Air Force . The pilot ejected and was rescued by search and rescue forces . This was the only time an F - 117 was shot down . The US Air Force F - 117A was developed in the 1970s , entering service in 1983 and officially revealed in 1988 . It saw its first combat in 1989 over Panama , and was widely seen as one of the most advanced pieces of US military equipment . At the same time , Yugoslavian air defenses were seen as relatively obsolete . Downing . Unknown to NATO , Yugoslav air defenses operators had found they could detect F - 117s with their " obsolete " Soviet radars after some modifications . In 2005 , Colonel Zoltán Dani confirmed in an interview suggested that those modifications involved using long wavelengths , allowing them to detect the aircraft when the wheel well or bomb bay doors where open . In addition , the Serbs had also intercepted and deciphered some NATO communications , and thus were able to deploy their anti - air batteries at positions best suited to intercept NATO planes . On March 27 , 1999 , the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade of the Army of Yugoslavia , under the command of Colonel Zoltán Dani , downed F - 117 Air Force serial number " 82 - 0806 " . The Army of Yugoslavia unit was equipped with a Yugoslav version of the Soviet Isayev S - 125 " Neva " missile system ( NATO reporting name , " SA - 3 " Goa " " ) . At about 8 : 15 pm local time , with a range of about several missiles were launched . According to Sergeant Dragan Matić , who was identified in 2009 as the soldier who fired the missiles , they detected the F - 117 at a range of about , operating their equipment for no more than 17 seconds to avoid being locked on to by NATO anti - air suppression . According to Dani in a 2007 interview , his troops spotted the aircraft on radar when its bomb - bay doors opened , raising its radar signature . The F - 117 was being flown by Lt . Col . Dale Zelko , an Operation Desert Storm veteran . He observed the launch of two missiles and saw them approach his aircraft . The first passed over him , close enough to cause buffeting , but did not detonate . However , the second missile did detonate , causing significant damage to the aircraft and causing it to tumble , out of control . The explosion was large enough to be seen from a KC - 135 Stratotanker , flying over Bosnia . Zelko was subject to intense g - forces as the aircraft tumbled and had great difficulty in assuming the correct posture for ejecting . After his parachute deployed , he used his survival radio to issue a mayday call and was able to contact the KC - 135 that had seen him shot down . Zelko used his survival radio while still descending as he reasoned the altitude would give his signal the best possible range . He was also sure he would be quickly captured by Serbian forces on the ground and wanted to confirm he was unhurt before this happened . Zelko landed in a field south of Ruma and quickly concealed himself in a drainage ditch . There , he felt the shock waves of American bombs dropped by B - 2 bombers on targets on the outskirts of Belgrade . He remained undetected , despite a large search carried out in the area by the Serbian army , police and local villagers . He was rescued by a U . S . Air Force combat search and rescue team in the early hours of the next morning . He was initially misidentified in press reports as the name " Capt Ken ' Wiz ' Dwelle " was painted on the aircraft ' s canopy . The lost F - 117 carried the name " Something Wicked " and had previously flown 39 sorties during Operation Desert Storm . This was the only time an F - 117 was shot down during its time in operational service . It was also the first time that a stealth aircraft has been shot down in the history of military aviation . Some American sources claim that a second F - 117A was damaged during the same campaign , allegedly on 30 April ; the aircraft returned to base , but it supposedly never flew again . The 250th Air Defense Missile Brigade also shot down a USAF F - 16 fighter on May 2 , 1999 , however these were the only two successes out of the dozens of ground – to – air missiles fired during the conflict . Aftermath . Photographs show that the aircraft struck the ground at low speed in an inverted position , and that the airframe remained relatively intact . Some pieces of the F - 117 ' s wreckage are preserved at the Serbian Museum of Aviation in Belgrade , other pieces of wreckage were reportedly sent to Russia , to be used in developing anti - stealth technology . The USAF retired the F - 117 in 2008 . Zoltan Dani , now running a bakery , and Dale Zelko , now retired from the US Air Force , have met and developed a friendship in recent years .