The ‘Retired’ F-117 Nighthawk Is Now Simulating Enemy Stealth Fighters in Mock Combat for the U.S. Air Force

The ‘Retired’ F-117 Nighthawk Is Now Simulating Enemy Stealth Fighters in Mock Combat for the U.S. Air Force

Retired from combat in 2008, the F-117 Nighthawk still flies out of Nevada because it solves a problem no simulator can: it’s a real, crewed stealth jet with known signatures. The Air Force uses it as a ‘red air’ asset to help pilots and air-defense crews practice finding and tracking low-observable targets, without burning precious F-22 and F-35 flight hours or exposing their most sensitive systems. The Nighthawk also supports radar and sensor …