F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft take part in Alaskan exercise for the first time since being decommissioned

The US Air Force used F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft during an exercise in Alaska. The event is called Northern Eagle 2023.

Here's What We Know

The planes were decommissioned 15 years ago, but the US Air Force continues to use them. Recently a photographer in California was able to take pictures of the F-117 Nighthawk while flying the training route. Now the service has published images from the exercise.

As part of Northern Edge 2023, stealth aircraft were used for enemy assessment and support. A pair of F-117s operated from Elmendorf-Richardson base in Anchorage.

The exercise is aimed at practicing data exchange, testing new technologies and testing new operating concepts. The event takes place in a realistic training environment with a wide range of assets at sea, on land, in space and in the air.

In 2021, the U.S. Air Force again began using KC-135 air tankers to refuel F-117s, significantly increasing range. However, the Alaskan exercise was the first confirmation that the Black Jets are in use outside the lower 48 US states after being decommissioned.

The US Air Force keeps the remaining F-117s in Nevada. The service now has 45 aircraft. Some of them will be in use until at least 2034. The cost of one Nighthawk is approximately $111 million, and a total of $6.56 billion was spent to create 64 "black planes".

The F-117 Nighthawk is powered by two General Electric F404-F1D2 engines. The stealth aircraft can reach speeds of up to 993 km/h (M=0.91), has a range of 1720 km and a combat radius of 860 km. Its maximum flight altitude is 13.7km.

Source: The War Zone