Stealth Fighter Down: The Combat Rescue of Vega 31

Description

On March 27th, 1999, the unthinkable happened when an F-117Stealth fighter—considered by many "the invisible jet"—was shot down on the third night of Operation ALLIED FORCE, NATO's aerial campaign against the brutalization of Kosovo by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. Retired Air Force Colonel Jim Cardoso, then a Captain and special operations helicopter pilot, was tasked to lead the combat rescue of the F-117 pilot, callsign Vega 31. On October 24th. He will relive that mission for the audience, providing a glimpse into the secretive world of special operations aviation and describing what it took to repatriate an American pilot down in enemy territory

Date(s)February 27, 2026

Class Time(s)Fri 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM

Instructor FL Speaker

LocationNorth Tampa Branch Library

# of Meeting(s)1

Notes

This is a face-to-face class.

Fri 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM; 1 session on 02/27/2026 (New lessons are released None specified)