Key Points and Summary – Officially retired in 2008, the F-117 Nighthawk never really left the skies.
-America’s first operational stealth “fighter” still flies from Tonopah and Groom Lake as a stealth surrogate, radar testbed, and even a stand-in for cruise missiles during air-defense drills.
Four F-117 Nighthawks fly in formation during a sortie over the Antelope Valley recently. After 25 years of history, the aircraft is set to retire soon. As the Air Force’s first stealth fighter, the F-117 is capable of performing reconnaissance missions and bombing critical targets, all without the enemy’s knowledge. (Photo by Bobbi Zapka)
F-117. Image Credit: Lockheed Martin.
-Once mocked as the “Wobblin’ Goblin” and “Hopeless Diamond,” the jet that opened the stealth era over Baghdad now helps U.S. forces train to track and kill low-observable threats like China’s J-20.
-With dozens of airframes preserved in museums and others quietly working in the desert, the F-117 has become an undead icon of American airpower.
The F-117 Nighthawk has inspired plenty of nicknames.
It was called the “Wobblin’ Goblin” due to its alleged instability at low speed (although some pilots dispute this allegation). It was also known as “Hopeless Diamond,” “Roach,” and “Stinkbug.”
Goofy monikers aside, the F-117 was one in a long line of prestigious aircraft produced by Lockheed’s (now Lockheed Martin’s) legendary Skunk Works division. The Nighthawk was the original so-called “stealth fighter,” even though it wasn’t really a fighter at all. But however you might categorize it, the F-117 did a fine job as a bomber/ground-attack warbird, especially during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, AKA Operation Desert Storm.
The F-117 was finally rendered obsolete when the first true stealth fighters arrived – the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, both of which can carry out air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions. (Sure enough, both of them are also Skunk Works brainchildren.) Accordingly, the F-117 was officially retired by the U.S. Air Force in 2008.
However, its official retirement did not mean the Nighthawk would be content to simply go gentle into that good night. Believe it or not, the Wobblin’ Goblin is still flying, albeit in an unofficial, below-the-radar capacity.
F-117 Nighthawk Never Retired
The news comes to us courtesy of Dario Leone in a 2025 article for The Aviation Geek Club:
“The USAF has acknowledged that a limited number of Nighthawks remain operational, serving primarily in training and testing capacities due to repeated civilian observations and increasing public curiosity. As reported by Caliber.az, the service had long remained silent about the aircraft’s post-retirement activities.
F-117 Stealth Fighter. Image: Creative Commons.
Image: Creative Commons.
“Nighthawks were brought out of retirement by the USAF for training purposes, with the F-117s popping up across the country on a sporadic basis.
“Once the Nighthawk’s continued use was a tightly held secret but amateur aviation enthusiasts and researchers helped piece together the extent of the Nighthawk’s quiet second life.
“Actually, several F-117s are based at the Tonopah Test Range Airport in Nevada, as well as at Groom Lake—better known as Area 51.”
This brings back memories of the 1980s, when the very existence of the stealth fighter was a not-so-well-kept secret. Indeed, when the Pentagon finally officially acknowledged the existence of the mystery plane in November 1988, it spawned some smart-alecky t-shirts proclaiming the Nighthawk as America’s “Best-Kept Secret.”
Stealth Fighter Comeback
Despite its obsolescence, the F-117 still serves useful purposes, such as testing next-generation radar systems, infrared tracking, and other sensor technologies; serving as a surrogate for potential adversary stealth aircraft (such as China’s Chengdu J-20 and Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57) during combat training, offering U.S. forces a unique opportunity to refine tactics and prepare for future threats; and, believe it or not, serving as surrogate cruise missiles.
F-117 Image: Creative Commons.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Anthony Loh, former director of the Air National Guard, elaborated on that last function during a 2021 interview:
“When you look at 117s that come and land and do that stuff, they’re a stealth platform, right? Early days of stealth, but they’re still a stealthy platform. So they can simulate things out there like cruise missiles that we would actually face. So are they a perfect platform for a cruise missile defense exercise? Absolutely.”
Reportedly, about 45 of the 59 F-117 airframes produced were believed to remain in service as of January 2023. (One of those 59 warbirds was shockingly shot down by a Serbian surface-to-air missile during Operation Allied Force in 1999.)
We Visited the F-117 at the U.S. Air Force Museum
For our readers who don’t have the proper security clearance or the political connections to see one of the operational Nighthawks up close, there are stationary airframes on view.
At last count, 16 Stinkbugs survived as static displays or restoration works-in-progress at military bases and museums around the United States.
Among these, two stand out:
-“Lone Wolf” (85-0816), at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. This aircraft was the first Wobblin’ Goblin to drop a bomb during Operation Desert Storm.
-“Unexpected Guest” (Tail No. 82-0803), displayed outside the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. This is a fitting home for the warbird, given that the F-117 made its maiden flight on June 18, 1981, and attained official operational status in October 1983 – all during the Reagan administration.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
