Lockheed Martin has been involved in stealth technology research since the 1970s. In the late 1970s, what would become the world’s first operational aircraft with stealth technology, the F-117 Nighthawk, was developed in response to the urgent need for a fighter aircraft that could fly undetected. Introduced in 1983, the single-seat subsonic F-117 took part in several wars and other critical historical events.