Cell phone video posted 1 Mar 19:

More extracts from recent social media posts - with photos - published in the The Aviationist:

https://theaviationist.com/2019/02/2...-social-media/

1st March, Death Valley.

Distraction from something else?

Well, I didn't see that coming...

And now there's a rumour that 4x F-117 aircraft were sent on a combat mission over Syria in 2017, using SDBs.

Is that the same four that have already been mentioned in post #118?

-RP

Yup. My deepest apologies.

Still, it's BS.

The Dark Knights
 

Supposdedly, one of the recently seen F-117A has 'Dark Knights' on its fin stripe thus leading to the conclusion a unit by this name is operating it. Safe to say the previous 37th/49th FW never had a squadron nicknamed the 'Dark Knights'.

https://airforcesmonthly.keypublishi...Pppk-e9N_Ker4k

Great photo.

I would think that there are a couple of aircraft supporting testing activities and I guess they've got to be operated by someone. Or, it's to mess with the guys out camping in the desert waiting for them to fly over.

Californian dreamin’
 

Appears the Wobbly Goblin plus Edwards based NKc-135 have been out to play off the coast.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...lifornia-coast

cheers

In the linked article it states that it is legally mandated that the F-117 must be destroyed by the end of this decade!
Why under what legislation??
could someone please explain.
Thanks
David

From: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...last-two-years

I have no idea how accurate that is. If you google for the Act mentioned it doesn't seem to say 4 a year anywhere https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hr...114hrpt840.pdf

Very, very interesting article on the F-117 and the RAF in the June edition of The Aeroplane. Well worth a read.

Salute!

Not surprising, or maybe it is, but somebody realized we had a 2nd generation low observable platform to use for training and development of tactics when future adversaries have LO platforms, manned and UAV's.

Gotta talk with some of my friends that flew the things, but previous rejoins seem to indicate that the 117 was more optimized for surface-to-air systems than A2A. And that makes sense, as our primary threat at the time was heavily dependent upon good GCI to get interceptors into a firing solution.

Some of us have questioned using F-35's in Red Flag, as "exposure" can be exploited by potential adversaries. Better to keep the actual capabilities as "hole cards", huh?

Gums sends...

Looks like they were out again today with the tanker from these radio logs:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....7bdb0a479f.jpg

MilRadioComms - Military Radio Frequncies, HF, VHF, UHF

The wobblies plus tanker out and about in broad daylight https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...lifornia-coast

This thread is a blast from the past. The amount of DMs I got questioning me over the (what I thought was a) blatant wind up re marshalling with blindfolds was unreal. It even made it into ARRSE.

Salute!

As one of my foreign students in a old plane said after a long briefing by an IP trying too hard to make points for his annual checkride, walking out to the planes....

"What he say?"

Other student calmly replies, "we go fly now."

Anybody know what AR1 was saying?

Gums asks...

Post #45 this thread Gums.

Another article on F-117, this one about its air to air role.
https://theaviationist.com/2020/06/0...th-pilot-says/

Not convinced about the F-117 having a secret HVA air-to-air role. Chris Topham was asked the question directly and he said that while it could carry the AIM-9, it had no way of employing it:

That seems quite consistent with the Aviationist article, which indicates the idea was there but never implemented.

I got in on a visit to the sneaky site at Khamis after GW1, and asked one of the pilots if they did any Air Combat training on the F117 . He said they didn't do any. At least we got an answer to that one, as I think some of the questions we asked were a bit to sensitive to answer.

I have seen a picture of a test firing. As I recall the missile was lowered from the bomb bay on the trapeze and then fired. I do not know whether this was a boost non-guided firing or a guided launch.

I heard a podcast in which the ex F117 guy said they had a plan to target Mainstays if war broke out.

Austrian incursion
 

work up to Iraqi Freedom ....then again if the Bundesheer receivers their Typhoons at the time ...wonder if could be tracked on a numerous way..

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...trian-airspace

There was, the Uk were offered them but declined

At least 4 x F-117s used as Red Air on Red Flag 20-3:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...rial-war-games

Miramar visit
 

Pair of them landed at MCAS Miramar with callsigns of ‚Knight‘ and it was no emergency divert either.

https://theaviationist.com/2020/10/2...fDgLpHf5r4oxjM

Excellent video here showing 2 x F-117 departing MCAS Miramar on October 22:

Now spotted at Nellis AFB too:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....45269884a5.png

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....790c3977f0.png

Neat to see them still flying.

Didn't the 117 fleet go to a gray scheme when at Holloman and until their supposed retirement? Seems all the more recent sighting are in the black scheme (which looks better). Wonder why the switch back to black?

IIRC, they only painted one grey.

Yes the gray scheme was a test and wasn't adopted. I think there may have been more than 1 in Gray and more than 1 scheme according to something I've read on the net.

Edited to add:
Article about the 'Gray dragon' here:

https://theaviationist.com/2013/02/2...-dragon-story/

Comments further down make reference to a 'Gray Ghost' aircraft included in trials in the mid 1990s from someone apparently there.

There was also a 'desert' scheme on one F-117A.

And one with a big flag underneath.

Very like the scheme employed by a certain Middle east country

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2aa9ca3634.jpg

Yes, almost enough to start a rumour eh....

First time I saw one was Mildenhall Air Fete 96 so here are my photos..

cheers


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....10ba258b5.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5b1e86437.jpeg

3 decades and fortnight ago Desert Storm kicked off with the Wobbly Goblin seine action for second time ...

Anyhow reminiscent of this the 117 has been cleared to being tanked up.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...8QItURqjKyBaQ8

cheers