1999 F-117A shootdown

On 27 March 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia amid the Kosovo War, a Yugoslav Army unit shot down a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth ground attack aircraft of the United States Air Force (USAF) by firing an S-125 Neva/Pechora surface-to-air missile. It was the first ever shootdown of a stealth aircraft. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued eight hours later by USAF Pararescuemen conducting search and rescue.

The F-117 had entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1983. It was believed its stealth technology would protect it from relatively obsolete Yugoslav air defenses. The wreckage was mostly intact, creating fears that the sensitive technology would be disseminated. The US military initially prepared F-15E fighters to destroy the wreckage, but claimed to abort the strike due to civilians at the site. It later claimed that it considered the F-117's technology outdated. Russian officials examined the wreckage, potentially contributing to the development of the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter and under development Tupolev PAK DA bomber. China also allegedly purchased wreckage parts, contributing to the Chengdu J-20 fighter.