On September 30th, a curious series of images was published showing the aerial refueling of U.S. Air Force F-117 Nighthawk aircraft by a KC-46A Pegasus, standing out among other things for involving aircraft that were already considered retired from service. In particular, the former were identified with the code “Knight 01,” while the tanker aircraft bore the callsign “Medusa 80 Heavy,” with all three flying over Los Angeles airspace en route to the shooting ranges located off the California coast.
Expanding on details, the images in question would be the first known since the U.S. Air Force decided to move forward with certifying F-117 aircraft to be able to receive aerial refueling from KC-46A Pegasus, even after their official retirement in 2008. In subsequent announcements in 2021, the institution acknowledged that they were still flying under the command of pilots from the 144th Fighter Wing based at the California Air National Guard in Fresno, while reports from specialized media also indicated activity from the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) airfield located in Nevada.
We can also mention, regarding the particulars of the activity, that local observers managed to identify the KC-46 from its point of departure at McConnell Air Force Base, located in the state of Kansas. The aircraft quickly headed toward the aforementioned state of California, where for a brief stage of its mission it orbited in the northern area of Edwards Air Force Base, after which it was finally able to rendezvous with the two F-117 aircraft. In the case of the latter, their exact point of departure is unknown since it is not possible to track their flights given their stealth characteristics, although initial reports speculate on the possibility that they began their mission from Groom Lake.
Beyond these particularities, U.S. analysts seem to agree that the flight of the F-117 reflects the clear intention of the USAF to move forward with extending the service life of these aircraft for a prolonged period, estimated at about ten years according to recent Requests for Information (RFI) in which the possibility of awarding contracts to keep these platforms active until the middle of the next decade was explored. Efforts to certify aerial refueling capability are one more step in that direction, considering that the KC-46 is configured as the institution’s most modern platform dedicated to this task.
Among the main possibilities regarding the motivation of the U.S. Air Force in pursuing this, it is known that the F-117s take part in pilot training missions and in military exercises such as Northern Edge 2023, as well as in simulations that cast them as cruise missiles. In addition, their peculiar characteristics make them useful for developing research and evaluations that contribute to future programs, a significant fact considering that the institution is currently driving forward its F-47 stealth fighter program.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
You may also like: The U.S Air Force’s new sixth-generation F-47 fighter jet could be designated “Phoenix”
