Ronald Reagan offered Britain the F-117 stealth aircraft By George Allison – January

Article pulled from U.K. Defence journal
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/ronald-reagan-offered-britain-f-117-stealth-aircraft/

I can’t seem to post the pictures from my mobile. Please use the link for description photo.

This would have been an interesting option probably in 1986 but perhaps by 1995 procurement would have been abit late leaving the raf as the only operator now. I don’t see it as a full tornado replacement more as a part replacement/supplement. What the article doesn’t discuss is the price. Any ideas on this?

Recently declassified documents from the British National Archives have confirmed what was largely an unofficial rumour.

The declassified documents from the British National Archives show that former US President Ronald Reagan had offered British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher a chance for both countries to work on the F-117 stealth fighter programme back in 1986.

The programme was given the code-name Project Moonflower. It is understood that the British Ministry of Defence declined the offer as it was still a ‘black programme’.

The later version offered to the Royal Air Force in 1995 was the F-117C. The aircraft was to be a baseline F-117A fitted with British avionics and EJ200 engines, plus a number of BAE structural components or sub-assemblies.

The F-117 was based on the Have Blue technology demonstrator and was the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology. The maiden flight of the Nighthawk took place in 1981 and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in 1983.

The Nighthawk was shrouded in secrecy until it was revealed to the public in 1988.