KPax
That would make more sense. The Gulf War was just starting with the invasion of Kuwait 2 days prior. The F117 hadn’t broken cover then even though the RAF had flown it several times prior. Sqn Ldr Graham Wardell was on the programme and is listed as BANDIT 282 here:
F-117 pilots - Bandit Numbers
Sadly, I saw Graham perish executing a loaded roll at an Airshow in Slovakia several years later.
So, the most likely explanation is that a F117 came over and was being escorted in the low flying system by a Harrier (possibly a non-RAF one from the USMC or maybe even BAe? Wardell worked for BAe shortly afterwards). That might by why the file is locked away as it may be linked to a US UK ‘special arrangement memoranda. I know that the RAF considered buying into the Nighthawk Programme.
So no little green men to be seen in all likelihood!
Also, the “Poachers” reported seeing the aircraft go straight up and out of sight. Seeing as it was reportedly low cloud then a weather abort upwards will look like that to the untrained eye.
I should say that I saw with my own eyes the RQ-170 Sentinel well before it became popular knowledge - I had to give my eyes a rub to ensure my eyes weren’t tricking me. For a while after it was subject to much speculation as “The Beast of Kandahar”, but even then it was forbidden to talk about it. There were pictures adorning walls for some time and spotters websites speculated constantly about it. There are aircraft that fly under a cloak of secrecy for many years like F117 and RQ-170, and so it wouldn’t surprise me at all that this is what happened back in Aug 1990.