Air Force Reveals Identity of Mysterious Skunkworks Stealth Drone

A U.S. Air Force official provides details on the mysterious aircraft spotted in Afghanistan

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 12.07.2009 at 12:54 pm 11 Comments

Stealth Drone Sighting You didn't see me, right? Right Air & Cosmos

A mysterious, unidentified drone that has been spotted in multiple photos from Afghanistan resembling previous stealth aircraft has finally been officially revealed. The U.S. Air Force confirmed the new craft, designated the RQ-170 Sentinel, to Aviation Week last Friday, after photos circulating online had caused much speculation among defense buffs.

Informally dubbed the "Beast of Kandahar," the tailless flying wing apparently is an RQ-170 Sentinel designed to provide recon and surveillance for warfighters on the frontlines. Online photos had shown the drone at a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems's hangar in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The 30th Reconnaissance Squadron also operates the RQ-170 at Tonopah Test Range -- a location perhaps better known as Area 52 -- under the aegis of Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.

The unmanned aerial system (UAS) comes courtesy of Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, which has worked on the U-2 and Blackbird spy planes as well as a swimming spy plane for the U.S. Navy. Lockheed had previously displayed a different stealth drone design that bore resemblance to the Reaper drones currently flying missions in Afghanistan.

The Ares technology blog points out that the stealth features suggest a drone meant for tactical operations in support of combat troops, rather than sneaky intelligence-gathering.

Meanwhile, the UK has launched its own call for a laser-toting stealth UAS. We'll let you know when those designs leak out.

[via Ares: Aviation Week]

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11 Comments

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b00n3s

12/07/09 at 1:10 pm

Not so stealthy now huh!

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sxgeorg

12/07/09 at 3:38 pm

at least one of two choices of mine from last weeks article was right....leave it to the Skunk, though I think flying over Iran is what this drone is actually doing......

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QIII

12/07/09 at 4:27 pm

Known <> "not steathy".

Non known <> "stealthy".

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V3RTIGO

12/07/09 at 5:57 pm

Known but can't be detected <> "stealthy".

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Science123456789

12/07/09 at 7:35 pm

oh crap.... we're all going to die :D too much stealth

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uncleiroh13

12/08/09 at 12:57 pm

@Science123456789 no we arent and where did you get that picture let me guess a half life 2 fan

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Cmmiesch

12/08/09 at 6:56 pm

wow all of you are retards. stealth means undetectable to enemy radar. not invisible unless over 10,000 ft in the air.

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Cmmiesch

12/08/09 at 6:58 pm

just like our stealth bomber. you can still see it but not on radar

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marshall300

12/08/09 at 11:35 pm

I RQ-170ed the cookies from the cookie jar

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striker223

12/11/09 at 2:41 am

no... it just means that once they landed, the cloaking device was deactivated.

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teabags

03/03/10 at 12:42 am

no, it just means someone just pressed the decloak button by accident..or the coffee mug got knocked over and the coffee shorted out the apple computer so the cloaking device deactivated at the exact moment someone was standing around with a camera

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