Duluth F117 Nighthawks 2023
Volk Field is one of three Combat Readiness Training centers in the entire United States. Every August, the Air National Guard, along with the Department of Defense, provides select units from across the country with the opportunity to train together for close adversary support in Operation Northern Lighting. This year, Northern Lightning was held August 7th-18th, which featured F35s, F16s, T38s, F1s, and F117s. The F117s were particularly interesting this year as they were based out of Duluth International Airport in Duluth, Minnesota. Three F117s, 84-0828 with the 70th-anniversary sticker, 84-0809 with a blue tail stripe, and 84-0811, known as the "Black Jets," are based out of Tonopah Test Range in California. They were originally retired back in 2008, but 45 were kept in cold storage at Tonopah. Since 2009, there have been reports of F117s flying in and around Tonopah. In May 2022, one F117, "828," arrived at Sentry Savannah, and ever since then they have been participating in large-scale exercises across the country.
Each morning during Northern Lightning, a pair of Nighthawks would take off with a "Knight 01 / 02" callsign around 9:00 am. Usually, Duluth's F16s would follow them closely during the flight. Around 12:00 pm, the F117s would return from their sortie and remain on the ground for the rest of the day. The week after Northern Lighting ended, Toledo's F16s, along with Duluth's, would take off each morning with the F117s and continue training together. The F117s acted as “LO targets” which each viper had to track and locate each target.
People from all around the world came to see the Nighthawks fly. This was an incredibly rare opportunity, especially with confirmed flights every morning for three weeks. For many, the F117s were the highlight of the year. Personally, for me, it was the catch of a lifetime!
Check out more photos below!
