F-117 lever i beste velgående - The War Zone

F-117s Make Surprise Appearance At Fresno Airport To Train Against Local F-15s

The officially retired F-117s continue to expand their adversary support mission, now making an unprecedented house call to the 144th Fighter Wing.

Fresno-Yosemite International Airport had a very strange pair of visitors this afternoon. Two F-117s landed at the airport in north-central California and taxied over to the 144th Fighter Wing's base, which is located just to the south of the passenger terminal. You can just imagine people's surprise when they saw the long-retired (officially) flat-black faceted Nighthawks touch down and taxi to the base with their white drag-chutes billowing behind them. It's worth noting that at least one of the jets was not fitted with radar reflectors. 

F-117 taxiing during Red Flag 

We reached out to the 144th Fighter Wing's public affairs department for comment as to what the stealth jets were doing on their ramp. They informed us that their arrival was fully planned and that they would be training with the Wing's F-15C/D Eagles over the coming days. This is a major development, as even though we have known the F-117s have been providing 'red air' aggressor capabilities for a long time now, that mission has never been fully acknowledged by the USAF. Fresno's F-15s are nearly entirely focused on the air-to-air combat mission set.