# Does the US army still employ stealth bombers/fighters for conflicts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139 "2004-04-04T03:38:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LuckySevens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/1 "2004-04-04T03:38:48Z")
I’ve heard no reports of any modern conflicts using stealth bombers. The latest Ive heard was how they moved a whole bunch of Stealth Bombers within range of North Korea; but thats the only real news Ive heard on them. Googles turned up blank as per usual for me ☹ Do they still use them tactically at all? ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Bob\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/2 "2004-04-04T04:03:40Z")
> [@LuckySevens](#): > > I’ve heard no reports of any modern conflicts using stealth bombers. > > The latest Ive heard was how they moved a whole bunch of Stealth Bombers within range of North Korea; but thats the only real news Ive heard on them. > > Googles turned up blank as per usual for me ☹ > > Do they still use them tactically at all? We do have F-117 and B-2 stealth aircraft. Neither are going away anytime soon, and both were last used in Operation: Iraqi Freedom. The F-117 is the ‘fighter’ (single-seat attack, actually) aircraft, and is the older of the two. It will be phased out when the F-35 enters service. The B-2 is the 2/3 seat bomber, (flying wing), and will be around for decades, most likely. (Until the planned replacement, the ‘hypersoar’ is out, most likely). ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Bob\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/3 "2004-04-04T04:12:16Z")
A nitpick with myself, the US _Army_ does not have any ‘stealth’ aircraft. (And will not have them for a long time, with the recent cancellation of the Comanche.) The US _Air Force_, however, happily continues to use stealth aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![LuckySevens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/4 "2004-04-04T04:16:44Z")
> [@Bob!](#): > > A nitpick with myself, the US _Army_ does not have any ‘stealth’ aircraft. (And will not have them for a long time, with the recent cancellation of the Comanche.) The US _Air Force_, however, happily continues to use stealth aircraft. touche’ 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/5 "2004-04-04T04:45:28Z")
At one time wasn’t the Air Force actually part of the Army? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/6 "2004-04-04T04:55:49Z")
The USAAC (US Army Air Corps) was disbanded in 1947, and turned into the USAF, about the time the Dept of War turned into the DoD… ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/7 "2004-04-04T05:22:42Z")
1 August 1907 United States Army Signal Corps Aeronautical Division 18 July, 1914 United States Army Aviation Section 24 May 1918 United States Army Air Service 1926 United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) 9 March 1942 United States Army Air Force (USAAF) 26 July 1947 United States Air Force (USAF) ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/8 "2004-04-04T05:47:33Z")
> [@LuckySevens](#): > > I’ve heard no reports of any modern conflicts using stealth bombers. Stealth aircraft have been used by the United States in every major conflict since the [1988 invasion of Panama](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/just_cause.htm) (where the F-117 made its debut). F-117’s were also [used extensively in the First Persian Gulf War](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/appendix/whitepaper.html). The B-2 bomber was used in combat for the first time in the [1999 NATO air campaign against Serbia](http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/24/kosovo.strikes.03/#2). (An F-117 fighter was also [lost in that conflict](http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar1999/n03281999_9903281.html).) B-2 bombers were also used in [Afghanistan](http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2001/011008-attack04.htm) and [Iraq](http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/27/sprj.irq.war.int.main/), as were [F-117](http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-03-20-stealth-tomahawks_x.htm)’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-army-still-employ-stealth-bombers-fighters-for-conflicts/238139/9 "2004-04-04T22:09:34Z")
Am I the only one who’s wondering what **LuckySevens** means by “modern”? My conception of a “modern war” would go back probably to WWII, and certainly to Korea, both of which were well before the development of stealth aircraft. But the OP seems to be acknowledging that stealth aircraft _were_ used in some “pre-modern” war. Incidentally, I think that the U.S. is the only country with effective stealth aircraft, so don’t expect them in any conflict in which we weren’t involved.