Air Force still hadn’t admitted that they had a stealth plane that could defeat enemy radar, opting instead to keep the advanced capabilities of the F-117 a secret. The F-117 Nighthawk reached initial operating capability in 1983, meaning the platform was already flying some missions in the early 1980s. People were getting the F-117’s name wrong before the public had even seen it (Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brian Ferguson) But there may be some good reason for the rumors. Let’s be clear before going any further: It’s not. It looks as though the Nighthawks weren’t dogfighting, but were rather playing the role of cruise missiles to be intercepted by the Eagles… but this story adds yet another layer of conspiracy-minded intrigue to the rumors about the F-117 actually being a stealth fighter. Last month, the long-retired F-117 was spotted in the skies over Fresno, California–apparently participating in some kind of air-to-air training against notably non-stealthy F-15s. Capable or not, using the Nighthawk to engage Soviet aircraft was the subject of discussion during development, and at least one Nighthawk pilot has gone on record as saying the platform really could engage enemy aircraft with infrared-guided missiles.
Even the Air Force seemed to give this unusual aircraft the wrong designation–and according to some, that may have even been intentional.īut despite lacking in the hardware required for a dogfight, this stealth fighter (that really wasn’t) had a complicated history with air-to-air combat. The truth is, this aircraft commonly referred to as the “Stealth Fighter” wasn’t really a fighter at all, but you can’t blame the public for getting this one wrong.
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