In a rare and remarkable sighting, aviation spotter Michał Rokita has captured footage of two F-117 Nighthawks landing at Groom Lake, the highly secretive facility better known as Area 51. This footage not only confirms speculation that the iconic stealth fighters have temporarily relocated to Groom Lake but also marks a significant moment in aviation history, as the aircraft return to their original home while Tonopah Test Range Airport undergoes major maintenance.
Over the last few years, Rokita has earned recognition for his dedication to photographing and filming clandestine military operations across Nevada’s restricted airspace. His most recent expedition, documented between April 8-10, 2025, has yielded some of the most compelling evidence yet of the F-117’s continued relevance to U.S. military operations.
Tonopah Test Range Airport, the long-time “retirement” home for the F-117 fleet, has been closed for extensive reconstruction, a fact confirmed by a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) declaring the airfield off-limits until July 18, 2025. As a result, the stealth fighters have returned to Groom Lake, the birthplace of the F-117 program in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“This time I was fortunate to catch F-117s ops at… Groom Lake!” said Michał Rokita, speaking about his latest venture. “That is a very special moment for me as I wanted to catch them particularly there, thinking that this is their current base with TTR being under reconstruction work at the moment, and mind you, I just saw what I wanted to see — simply amazing!”
The relocation is deeply symbolic. Groom Lake is where the Nighthawk was born under a veil of Cold War secrecy. Seeing the aircraft once again operate from the dry lakebed’s hidden runways provides a tangible link to a critical era in aviation development.
The footage captured by Rokita includes a variety of aircraft movements. Alongside the F-117s, he filmed typical Groom Lake residents such as Janet Boeing 737 transports and Beech King Air aircraft, as well as two unidentified aircraft operating under the callsign “MIG.”
The sighting of “MIG” callsign aircraft adds an intriguing layer to Rokita’s footage. While visual identification remains unclear due to distance and atmospheric conditions, F-16s and other test platforms are known to operate at Groom Lake. These sightings hint at ongoing red team adversary testing or classified development activities alongside the reactivated Nighthawks.
Although officially retired by the U.S. Air Force in 2008, the F-117 has never truly disappeared from American skies. Originally placed in Type-1000 storage — a state of preservation allowing for future recall — the aircraft have been seen increasingly participating in exercises, adversary air training, and flight testing.
In 2016, legislative changes repealed the requirement to maintain the F-117s in recallable condition. Yet, sightings only grew. In 2021, the Air Force even released official imagery of the Nighthawks still flying, marking a shift in how the program was publicly acknowledged.
By September 2022, an Air Force Test Center Request for Information revealed plans for a 10-year maintenance and logistics contract for the F-117 fleet. These details signaled a commitment to operating the stealth jets until at least 2034. In 2024, reports emerged that the Air Force was seeking to certify the F-117A for aerial refueling by the KC-46A Pegasus, dramatically increasing its operational flexibility.
Today, while the precise number of airworthy Nighthawks remains classified, estimates suggest around 45 F-117s remain in the inventory. Disposal rates have slowed considerably, with only two or three jets retired each year instead of the initially planned four.
This is not the first time Rokita’s lens has captured the heightened sensitivity surrounding Groom Lake operations. Last year, while camped on Tikaboo Peak — a remote 8,000-foot mountain 26 miles east of Groom Lake — he witnessed the base’s extraordinary vigilance.
Throughout the night, Groom Lake appeared quiet. But in reality, the base was preparing for a nocturnal launch of a secretive aircraft. However, the mission was aborted after the detection of a “Watchdog Tango” — a code word describing a spotter (“Watchdog”) at Tikaboo Peak (“Tango” for the phonetic “T”).
A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was dispatched to investigate, verifying the presence of observers. This incident underscores how seriously Groom Lake takes operational security. Even from a legally accessible public peak miles away, the watchful eyes of a single aviation enthusiast were enough to cancel a secret flight.
While adversary training and cruise missile surrogate missions are well-documented uses for the still-flying F-117s, the scope of their activities is likely broader. Some analysts speculate the Nighthawks are being used as stealth surrogates to train forces against low-observable threats similar to future peer adversary capabilities.
Additionally, they may serve as flying testbeds for next-generation systems — sensors, communications, electronic warfare suites, or even stealth coatings intended for upcoming aircraft like the B-21 Raider.
One compelling possibility is that Nighthawks are participating in classified “black world” programs involving future air combat systems, particularly those related to the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
The F-117 Nighthawk remains one of the most iconic aircraft in aviation history. Its diamond-shaped design, radical in the late 1970s, shattered the conventions of aeronautical engineering. It proved that true stealth — not just reduced radar cross-section, but operational stealth — was achievable.
Its combat record, beginning with the 1989 invasion of Panama and reaching legendary status during Operation Desert Storm, further cemented its status. The Nighthawk struck heavily defended targets with impunity, inspiring a generation of stealth aircraft designs.
Now, the aircraft is poised to contribute to the U.S. military’s future in ways few could have predicted. Even as the Air Force prepares for a new era of air dominance with platforms like NGAD and the B-21, the Nighthawk’s ghostly form continues to glide across America’s secret skies, adapting to a new, shadowy purpose.
For Michał Rokita, catching two F-117s at Groom Lake was more than just an aviation scorecard achievement. It represented a fleeting connection to an earlier era of aviation history, a moment when revolutionary technology was born under complete secrecy.
In an era of ubiquitous satellites, drones, and online leaks, the F-117 still manages to retain its aura of mystery. Groom Lake, too, remains true to its secretive legacy, cancelling missions rather than risk exposure, operating with a degree of caution that few other facilities in the world can match.
As the Nighthawks continue flying from their birthplace, their purpose today remains shrouded in mystery, much like their early days at Groom Lake. What is clear, however, is that the F-117’s story is far from over. Rokita’s footage offers the public a rare, precious glimpse into an ongoing saga that blends Cold War legacy with future-focused military innovation.
The relocation of the F-117s back to Groom Lake is both a practical move, driven by necessary maintenance at Tonopah, and a poignant moment of aviation history repeating itself. And thanks to the dedication of spotters like Michał Rokita, the world can still catch fleeting glimpses of the extraordinary world hidden behind the Nevada desert’s barren hills.
