Following reports at least one F-117 was spotted flying in Nevada and eastern California last week, Dutch aviation magazine Scramble is now reporting four of the “retired” stealth aircraft were actually conducting classified air strikes over Syria and Iraq as recently as 2017.

Scramble is published by an aviation society of the same name and dates back to 1979, when it was established by a group of aviation enthusiasts who were tracking aircraft activity at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It is widely seen as a reputable aviation news outlet, earning the respect of noted aviation journalist David Cenciotti and his popular website, “The Aviationist,” which may have been the first to pick up on Scramble’s claims.

Scramble wrote:

Back in 2017, and not (published) by any other source so far, Scramble received very reliable information that at least four F-117s were deployed to the Middle East as an operational need emerged for the USAF to resurrect the stealth F-117 for special purposes. One of the deployed aircraft was involved in an in-flight emergency and landed far away from its temporary home base that was likely located in Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Qatar.