F-117 suddenly returns to the sky, revealing a new role?

The F-117A Night Hawk stealth fighter has just been seen operating in the sky, contrary to the claim that the US has no intention of reusing it.

The F-117A Night Hawk fighter (actually it should be called a bomber) officially entered service in May 1981 and was withdrawn from combat service of the US Air Force in 2008.

The F-117A's design revolutionized the aircraft industry, with its angular exterior and special coating designed to absorb or deflect radar waves rather than bounce them back to the source.

The Night Hawk first saw combat during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, where it penetrated Baghdad's dense air defenses to drop a 2,000-pound guided bomb and then safely retreated.

During the 1999 attack on Yugoslavia, the F-117A and B-2 Spirit formed a formidable duo, causing extremely strong air suppression against the Eastern European country's air defense network.

US Air Force F-117 Night Hawk stealth fighter.

However, on the night of March 27, 1999, an F-117 with the registration number AF-82-806 was shot down by an S-125 Pechora air defense missile, ending its reign of terror across the globe.

By 2005, the US Air Force decided to withdraw the F-117A from frontline units to reserve because at this time the F-22A Raptor along with the B-2 were enough to create air power.

By 2008, the last F-117A was officially retired, some Night Hawk aircraft were dismantled, some were restored and put in museums.

Latest images of the F-117A stealth fighter in action.

Despite the announcement that it would be phased out, people around the Nevada desert still occasionally see this stealth fighter in the sky, leading to the assumption that it still has some secret role for the US Air Force.

This is also reasonable when the F-117A's frame age is still very high, and even though it is detected by ground radar, its surface still scatters radar waves better than most current 4th and 4+ generation fighters.

Therefore, China's Sina newspaper predicted that the US Air Force may be using the F-117 for combat training, impersonating the opponent's 5th generation fighters such as the Su-57 or J-20.

F-15/16/18 pilots being trained to engage and capture targets against real stealth aircraft will be much more effective when the "blue team" is just a fighter jet of the same generation.

If the above purpose is confirmed, the "active duty" time, even if only in the reserve force, of the F-117A Night Hawk will be extended for many more decades.

According to Baodatviet