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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
F117s leave den!
2020-10-21
[The Drive] Some of those who live and travel around Marine Corps Air Station Miramar got one heck of a surprise this afternoon as a pair of F-117 Nighthawks recovered at the sprawling air base situated north of downtown San Diego. The jets' visit comes as the officially retired F-117 force has drastically expanded its operations, now being used constantly for testing and aggressor duties in a far more visible manner, including during high-profile exercises, such as Red Flag.

It isn't clear exactly what the stealth jets are doing there, but aircraft that are participating in exercises that take place over the massive range complex off the Southern California coast often stage out of Miramar. As part of their expanded operations, F-117s have ventured off the SoCal coast for drills on multiple occasions, as The War Zone was first to report, including working with carrier strike groups that are spinning up for deployment.
Posted by:3dc

#14  IIRC, Starting with the F-16 all of the aircraft were deliberately "unstable" to boost their maneuverability. No power = hit the parachute immediately.
Posted by: magpie   2020-10-21 21:45  

#13  I remember when the nickname for the F-117 was the Wobbly Goblin. If you lost the electrics the pilot had to eject before it fell out of the sky. Had the glide characteristics of a gut shot brick.
Posted by: Phinetch Wherese4624   2020-10-21 20:43  

#12  I was asking is this perhaps OPFOR so the carriers have previous gen stealth aircraft to work against, much like what the Chinese may be expected to field.
Posted by: Theager Borgia1057   2020-10-21 19:38  

#11  In somewhat of a redux, the Air Force and Lockheed have built a prototype 6th generation fighter totally out of the spotlight. The F-117 was flying for at least a couple years before the public ever found out about it.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-10-21 18:16  

#10  Those planes are soooo cool.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-10-21 18:12  

#9  P2k, there's another saying, 'The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war!'
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839   2020-10-21 12:49  

#8  OPFOR?

Interesting question.

Not in aviation, but I understand that if you want an airplane to go to crap, put it in storage, so maybe a bit of stretching as well? Get some flight hours for the pilots, test out some detection devices. And if someone gets jumpy, these guys are on the roster.

Crib sheet is nice for those without a military background, or like me the coffee hasn't quite sorted out the alphabet soups in a timely manner.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-10-21 11:11  

#7  It would be interesting to are how stealthy a group of stealth bombers is. We have been using them independently in the past. This is for future use of larger groups of F-35s in any future conflict.
Posted by: magpie   2020-10-21 10:32  

#6  His training were bloodless battles, his battles were bloody training - old Roman saying
Posted by: Procopius2k   2020-10-21 07:41  

#5  US and allied training getting ahead of the curve.
China: J-20, J-31 and H-20 bomber in future
Russia: Su-57, PAK DA bomber in future
Posted by: Waldemar Flomonter9347   2020-10-21 07:21  

#4  Make that 76 now who know what OPFOR means.
But, please, what and where is the threat from stealth aircraft on the US?
If its not top secret?
Posted by: Snimble McGurque4348   2020-10-21 05:31  

#3  I think the 75 people who use Rantburg all know what OPFOR means.
Posted by: Muggsy Hapsburg5230   2020-10-21 05:16  

#2  /\ OPFOR = Opposing Force(s), the bad guys.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-10-21 00:45  

#1  OPFOR?
Posted by: Theager Borgia1057   2020-10-21 00:39  

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