Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel

The RQ-170 Sentinel, nick-named The Beast of Kandahar, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Lockheed Martin and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) for the Central Intelligence Agency. While the USAF has released few details on the UAV's design or capabilities, defense analysts believe that it is a stealth aircraft fitted with reconnaissance equipment.


RQ-170s have been reported as having operated in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. It has been confirmed that the UAVs have operated over Pakistan and Iran; operations over Pakistan included sorties which collected some of the intelligence which led to the death of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.
In December 2011, Iranian armed forces captured a RQ-170 flying over their country. The U.S. military has acknowledged losing a RQ-170 in the region and have asked for it to be returned. The UAV shown on Iranian television appears to be the missing American drone.

Development

The RQ-170 Sentinel was developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works as a stealth Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Journalists have noted design similarities between the RQ-170 and previous stealth and UAV programs such as the RQ-3 DarkStar and Polecat. It is a tailless flying wing aircraft with pods, presumably for sensors or SATCOMs, built into the upper surface of each wing. Few details of the UAV's characteristics have been released, but estimates of its wingspan range from approximately 65 feet (20 m)to 90 feet (27 m).
The "RQ" designation indicates that the RQ-170 Sentinel does not carry weapons. Aviation Week's David A. Fulghum believes that the UAV is probably a "tactical, operations-oriented platform and not a strategic intelligence-gathering design".

The USAF confirmed the "grainy photos of a gray, flying-wing-typed unmanned airplane near Kandahar Airfield" Since then, this aircraft has been known as "The Beast of Kandahar" in relation to the discussion of the RQ-170 Sentinel on 4 December 2009. A USAF colonel subsequently commented that RQ-170 is separate from the MQ-X program, which has yet to determine stealth or powerplant requirements, and thus the Sentinel will not replace the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones currently in service. As of May 2011^[update], the U.S. military had not released any statements concerning the Sentinel since December 2009

 

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