F-117 Stealth Fighter + Caterpillar Crusher = Pile of Sadness

The last F-117 stealth fighter was retired a few months ago. Most of the fleet is now stationed in a special retirement village all its own at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, where they await their fate. This fate. Hopefully, for humanitarian reasons, the first Nighthawk to the slaughter seen here was done privately, quietly, out back–to avoid upsetting the others. It looks like it was…

Yes, this is a Caterpillar quickly reducing one of the most groundbreaking fighter aircraft the world has seen to a smoking heap of scrap. Because while they will always look like they’re from the future, the Nighthawk’s facet-based stealth tech has its origins in the 1970s, and will be replaced by the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning’s more advanced systems, which are also cheaper to maintain. What is it about seeing stealth aircraft in a less-than-together state? Reassuring to know such scary-good tech is human, after all? [Ares]