UV Online
Mystery UAV declassified
The mystery UAV first revealed by UVOnline back in April now has an identity.
In a statement, the United States Air Force (USAF) announced the operation of the RQ-170 Sentinel, a low-observable unmanned air system built by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs division, better known as the Skunk Works.
The aircraft were built to meet the needs of increased intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support and come under the command of the USAF's Air Combat Command. The statement goes further and announces that the RQ-170s are operated by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron based at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, a base named famous for its involvement in the test and development of the F-117 Nighthawk 'Stealth Fighter.
The USAF did not disclose any photographs or technical specifications about the aircraft, but British personnel who have seen the aircraft have told UVOnline that the aircraft is similar in length to a Grob Tutor piston-engined training aircraft.
The disclosure was sparked after the publication of a new image on the French blog Secret Defense which published a new and significantly more detailed image of the aircraft showing it from side-on.
UVOnline first reported on the UAV back in April after receiving a picture of the aircraft taxiing on the ground at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan at the beginning of the year. The story was immediately picked up by other publications and by the internet blogosphere including Stephen Trimble's DEW Line blog, sparking speculation about the aircraft's manufacturer and operator.
The RQ-designation of the type suggests a pure-reconnaissance role for the Sentinel while its declassification sheds new light on Lockheed Martin's activity in the UAV market. The only other recent UAV programme to have come out of the Skunk Works was the P175 Polecat, a high-altitude stealthy reconnaissance UAV, but the only prototype crashed during a test flight.
Questions still remain about its operation from Kandahar, from where it would reportedly routinely operate in daylight. It is possible the aircraft is involved on operations outside the Afghan theatre of operations, although the whereabouts of such operations would be purely speculation.
By Darren Lake & Tony Osborne – UVOnline Editorial Team
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