Secretive F-117 Nighthawks remain active with new refueling upgrade
October 1, 2025
New photos show the USAF has upgraded supposedly retired F-117 Nighthawks to be refuelled by Pegasus tankers. The development underscores how these secretive aircraft remain active.
F-117 Nighthawk upgraded for KC-46A in-air refuelling
Freelance news photojournalist Matt Hartman posted a series of pictures on his X (formerly Twitter) and Flickr accounts showing F-117A Nighthawks aerial refuelling from an Air Force KC-46 Pegasus tanker.
A #USAF #KC46A c/s MDUSA80 HEAVY, ser# 17-46026, HEX AE5E07, dragging 2 F-117A Stealth Fighters SB to ranges off of Mexico today. #F117 #StealthFighter @thewarzonewire @TheAviationist @AviationWeek 09-30-25 pic.twitter.com/l1Cp19Jj0a
— Matt Hartman (@ShorealoneFilms) October 1, 2025
In the comments, one person commented, “I thought they retired those [F-117s].” Hartman replied, “Lord no… been flying for a while now. Not my first run-in with these guys…” He also stated he had caught the F-117s three times “in the act” now.
While Nighthawks are designated “F” for fighter, they are used in a bombing role. Early in the program’s history, it had been thought that it could carry missions like hunting down and destroying Soviet AWACS aircraft.
It is unclear how many F-117s remain operational, although FlightGlobal lists five in USAF service for training.
F-117, a secret project from start to finish
The Nighthawk project began in 1975 as a Lockheed Skunk Works black project. The aircraft first flew in 1981 before being introduced into US service in 1983.
At the time, it was one of the top-secret Air Force projects, with the government covering up incidents to ensure they remained a secret, including when one crashed in Sequoia National Forest in July 1986. Only 59 F-117As were produced, as well as another five prototypes.
They were mothballed in 2006 and supposedly retired, except for limited training use. However, it is known that the US keeps some of them active as they are regularly seen flying.
It appears that the Nighthawks remain active enough for the Air Force to upgrade them to in-air refuelling from the service’s newest tanker. One day, the Nighthawk will retire for good, but until then, it seems that it continues to reveal new secrets.
The US is believed to have other black box projects today, perhaps the most famous of which is the assumed RQ-180 reconnaissance drone. Lockheed’s Skunk Works is also believed to be developing the next-generation spy hypersonic aircraft dubbed the SR-72 Son of Blackbird.
Did you know that the Air Force and Lockheed managed to design, build, and fly the F-117 in just 31 months? Even more fascinating, they kept it a secret for 10+ years! It was the very first Black Jet. pic.twitter.com/tDkWZ0XGW9
— Air Power (@RealAirPower1) September 25, 2025
While not a black bird project, the USAF flew three NGAD demonstrators in 2020, for which no images publicly emerged online. The two partial official renderings of the resulting F-47 are assumed not to be completely representative and include misdirection.
Known operational use of the F-117
The United States officially acknowledged the Nighthawk in 1988. They were used in combat over Panama in 1989, Yugoslavia in 1999 (by then mostly Serbia), Afghanistan in 2001, Iraq in 1990 and again in 2003, and it is believed they were used in Syria in 2017.
The Nighthawk is one of the first stealthy aircraft produced. Still stealth, or low-observability, doesn’t mean invisibility. Famously, the Serbs in 1999 managed to shoot one down thanks to a series of events that aligned for a lucky shot.
In 2024, Alex Hollings from Sandboxx News presented available evidence that Nighthawks were used on bombing missions to strike targets in Syria in 2017.
He argued that the USAF wanted a stealthy platform for the mission, but didn’t want to risk losing and therefore compromising a new, higher-end stealthy platform like the B-2 Spirit or F-35. The F-117 remains relatively stealthy and capable, but its loss would not be overly compromising.
OTD: 26 years ago, “Vega 31” an F-117 from USAF’s 49th FW, fell to Serbian SAMs near Novi Sad (March 27, 1999). The F-117's pilot, Lt. Col. Darrell Zelko ejected and was rescued by SAR forces. This was the first and only time an "invisible aircraft" was shot down by enemy fire. pic.twitter.com/kjReJ3ggN2
— Air Power (@RealAirPower1) March 27, 2025
The F-117 Nighthawk is now an old 1980s design that has already been compromised in Serbia in 1999. It is widely assumed that China gained access to components of that downed jet.
