Yet another new tidbit of information has emerged regarding recent F-117 Nighthawk operations over and around Panamint Valley, California. Photos from the aircraft's famous appearance near the aviation photographer haven of Rainbow Canyon have shown the black jets largely stripped of markings, aside from one peculiar and high-profile addition on one of the planes—a color tail stripe prominently displayed on the F-117's 'v' tails. It reads "Dark Knights" and has the iconic planform shape of an F-117 towards the tail's leading edge. The first generation stealth jets were officially retired over a decade ago, but the type is still flying in small numbers. You can read all of our years of coverage on the F-117 and the fascinating topic of its continued operation here. Most recently, it was reported that some of the Nighthawks had been returned to operational service to fly combat operations in the Middle East—a claim we broke down in detail in two special features linked here and here. So, suffice it to say that the appearance of the mysterious tail flash only adds to the intrigue surrounding the stealth jet and its ongoing flight operations.

The shot showing the tail band can be seen in the photo in the tweet below. Higher resolution photos can be seen on Air Forces Monthly website linked in the tweet and here.

Let's start with the name. Dark Knights would certainly be a great name even for the small cadre of pilots and maintainers that are known to keep roughly four to six F-117s flyable at any given time at the mothballed force's home, Tonopah Test Range Airport. The "dark" part of the name could likely signify the shadowy nature of the unit's existence—the USAF has elected to stay bizarrely quiet about the status of its F-117s since the type's official retirement and banishment to the high-security airfield in a very remote part of the Nevada desert. Dark Knights also has a pop culture connection. Arguably the most beloved Batman movie ever used the Caped Crusader's nickname "Dark Knight" in its title. Batman, a vigilante that takes on his enemies alone in the dead of night while wearing a black suit of armor certainly sounds like a good fit for the F-117 and its mission set.

There is also already a Dark Knights squadron in the USAF. 338th Training Squadron is based at Keelser AFB and is part of Air Education Training Command. According to the Keesler AFB's webpage, the unit trains airmen in "RF transmission, airfield systems, ground radar, cyber transport." The existence of this very public unit is interesting, but it doesn't appear to have any relation to the F-117 or its continued flying operations.

USAF/Wikicommons

The Knight moniker also has a historical relation to the F-117 program overall. In 1993, as F-117 operations relocated to Holloman AFB in New Mexico, the 9th Fighter Squadron, known by the nickname "Iron Knights," took over F-117 operations from the 415th Fighter Squadron. That unit had flown the F-117 during the tail-end of its period of the program's secrecy from the type's initial operational home at Tonopah Test Range Airport, through declassification, and on to incredible success during Operation Desert Storm. The 9th Fighter Squadron was one of just two operational F-117 squadrons following the type's bedding down at Holloman AFB. Apparently, sometime in the second half of the 1990s, the 9th Fighter Squadron changed its nickname from "Iron Knights" to "Flying Knights." Regardless, the Knight nickname has a special place in F-117 lore and history.

Flightlineinsignia.com

Some may say the appearance of the tail flash flown on a jet with nearly all its other markings sprayed over seems indicative that a new squadron, possibly one with greater manpower and capabilities than the skeleton crew that has kept a handful of F-117s flying for years, has been established. But really, it's all anyone's guess. As we noted in our piece on the F-117 Middle East deployment rumors, there is no real evidence to support such claims nor the existence of a F-117 combat force of any size, although there may—or may not—have been a real requirement and clear logic behind secretly returning a number of F-117s back to operational service. What's more likely is that the markings just highlight what has existed for many years—the name of the unit tasked with keeping F-117s airborne for test and currency purposes and with maintaining the dozens of airframes cocooned five to a hangar at Tonopah. You are probably wondering why a jet that isn't supposed to be seen have a tail flash? The answer is likely morale, at least mainly. But once again, we just don't know what the exact circumstances and origins are behind badging. It's also worth noting something we have pointed out time and again, that these aircraft could very well be operated by contractors, not the USAF. This is actually something we have been told multiple times in the past and it would make a lot of sense. As such, slapping a non-standard decal of the contractor unit's chosen nickname on one of the F-117's tails seems far less puzzling than the alternative explanation.