The Pentagon has always claimed that it would preserve the F-117 Nighthawk, within a highly protected area of the Air Force in Nevada, for possible future use, but recent amateur photos have shown that the attack aircraft on the soil is still operational. And this, in theory, would make no sense considering that the 52 F-117 were officially withdrawn from service in the 2008.
However, amateur photos have shown the opposite, as reported by both The National Interest than from the site WarIsBoring.
Why, then, would the Air Force maintain an operational force of F-117, despite its age, complexity, high costs and after having shown that it is not immune to some defensive countermeasures, such as the Serbian one?
During the war, in the 1999, a Nighthawk was shot down by a SA-3 Goa. Despite this, the US continues to support the Nighthawks financially and logistically within budgets covered by military secrecy.
The speculations, on maintaining a fleet (or even a small part of it) operational are several. Among the most plausible, tactical stealth bombers may have been reconverted as experimental testers to assess the ability of a radar system to detect and track low-observability flying objects. The F-117 may have also been equipped with new radar-absorbing materials and coatings applied to the structure. Or again, those photographed in the skies could also be F-117 unmanned. If so, they would be the first unmanned tactical stealth bombers on a "combat proven" operating cell.
If the US really had an automated Nighthawk force, it could hit highly defended targets with multiple ammunition like two JDAMs or twelve SDBs. At costs, however, exorbitant, but certainly lower than those of the B-2, an increasingly deterrent and propaganda weapon that is truly functional in a modern asset.
Just the use of the B-2, the "bomber that costs more per gram than gold", is sipped by the Pentagon. A fleet of 21 bombers, although powerful, cannot be considered as a "game changer", also analyzing all the operational theaters in which the United States is engaged. The use is reduced even more considering, finally, that few current scenarios (excluding a conflict with the super-powers and also in that case would be too few) require a high technological profile like that of the B-2.
Returning to the F-117 in service. Another plausible thesis would be that of the invisible aggressor. F-117 could be used by the United States and its allies to test new penetration tactics in highly protected systems.
Or finally, the Defense Department would have decided to continue flying with the F-117 to keep a small unit of pilots and support crews operational, so that they could easily reopen the program if necessary.
Beyond the speculations, the only certain fact is that the F-117 are operational.
(photo Lockheed Martin)
