USAF confirms existance of classified stealth drone aircraft nicknamed "The Beast of Kandahar" as RQ-170 Sentinel

[Caelius]

Holy ....if anyone doubted that the mystery men in Lockheed Martin's Skunkworks Advanced Programs division still didn't have their mojo, they are probably themselves now. I've been following this little story for almost 3 years now and was wondering if the public would ever be shown the light on just what the hell the USAF Recon units based out of those "Electronic Combat Ranges" in Nevada and New Mexico have been up to.

For those that don't know, the Skunkworks Division are the same people who brought us wonders like the U-2, X-15, SR-71, Have Blue (which became the F-117), and B-2. Their less "Black" projects also include the F-22 and F-35.

David Fulghum and Bill Sweetman/Washington

The secret is out. The U.S. Air Force has confirmed the existence of the “Beast of Kandahar” UAV that was seen flying out of Afghanistan in late 2007. The jet aircraft – a tailless flying wing with sensor pods faired into the upper surface of each wing – is the RQ-170 Sentinel, developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works. An Air Force official revealed to Aviation Week Friday afternoon that the service is “developing a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward deployed combat forces.”

The USAF statement came after discussion of the UAV emerged here on Ares. “The fielding of the RQ-170 aligns with Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates’ request for increased intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support to the Combatant Commanders and Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz’s vision for an increased USAF reliance on unmanned aircraft,” according to the statement.



The RQ-170 is flown by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron at Tonopah Test Range, Nev. – home of the F-117 stealth fighter when the program’s existence was secret – and falls under Air Combat Command's 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. At Kandahar, the Sentinel was seen operating out of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ hangar.

The 30th RS was activated as part of the 57th Operations Group on Sept. 1, 2005, and a squadron patch was approved July 17, 2007. The activation – although not the full meaning of the event - was noted among those who watch for signs of activity in the classified world.

The RQ-170 designation is similar to that of the F-117 – a correct prefix, but out of sequence to avoid obvious guesses of a program’s existence. Technically, the RQ designation denotes an unarmed aircraft rather than the MQ prefix applied to the armed Predator and Reaper UAVs. The USAF phrase, “Support to forward deployed combat forces,” when combined with visible details that suggest a moderate degree of stealth (including a blunt leading edge, simple nozzle and overwing sensor pods) suggests that the Sentinel is a tactical, operations-oriented platform and not a strategic intelligence-gathering design.

Many questions remain about the aircraft’s use. If it is a high-altitude aircraft it is painted an unusual color – medium grey overall, like Predator or Reaper, rather then the dark gray or overall black that provides the best concealment at very high altitudes.

The wingspan appears to be about 65-ft., about the same as an MQ-9 Reaper. With only a few images to judge from – all taken from the left side – the impression is of a rather deep, fat centerbody blended into the outer wings. With its low-observable design, the aircraft could be useful for flying the borders of Iran and peering into China, India and Pakistan for useful data about missile tests and telemetry, as well as gathering signals and multi-spectral intelligence.

Bolding mine. IIRC Trevor Paglen was actually on the Colbert Report about a year ago talking about some of the intricacies of US Air Force unit patches and the hidden meanings behind those with classified histories.

I got a good kick from him doing such a good job of scaring the crap out of Colbert when he talked about the patches for the B-2 bomber crews.

Here's the 30th RS' unit patch.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

And some other ones (both current and historical) just for kicks:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Major props to anyone who can find the Groom Lake (AKA Area 51) reference in this one

Here's the previous "Beast of Kandahar" article that reported on the first sightings (by the French no less) of the aircraft back in 2007. Note that the picture in this is just an artist's impression.
Source

A photograph of the Beast of Kandahar, the classified stealth UAV first reported in April, has emerged on a blog linked to left-wing French newspaper Liberation.



The photo confirms that the previous artists' impressions were largely accurate. The jet has long, slender outer wings, spanning as much as 80 feet, mated to a stouter, deeper centerbody with a pointed nose. One important detail: the overwing fairings are not B-2-like inlets, but cover some kind of equipment - satcoms on one side, perhaps, and a sensor on the other.

The most likely provenance of the airframe is Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, and it is very likely to be associated with the Desert Prowler program - unearthed by historian Peter Merlin and "patchologist" Trevor Paglen. More background here, but it should be noted that Dave Fulghum reported in June 2001 on a plan to acquire 12-24 high altitude, stealthy UAVs. The effort had gathered pace after a US EP-3 SIGINT aircraft was forced to land in China in April, and went further underground after 9/11. It's believed that the first of a small batch of aircraft flew in late 2005 and were operational in Afghanistan in 2007 (where this photo was probably taken.)

Despite superficial similarity the Desert Prowler is not an immediate relative of the Polecat technology demonstrator tested in 2006. The latter incorporated advanced aerodynamic and structural features for a future long-range, very high-altitude UAV, while Desert Prowler is more conservative.

Perhaps the biggest mystery, though, is what the birds were doing in Kandahar. Why use a stealth aircraft against an adversary that doesn't have radar? And if it was part of some Secret Squirrel operation against the Taliban, what in the blue blazes was it doing outdoors in daylight?

[Kjertesvein]

If I knew about this? no.

[Ahlerich]

pff germany is way ahead, its a secret research program though. i was able to smuggle out a picture:

[Simon Cashmere]

Not sure why they need a Stealth drone for the Taliban. Its not like they have any radars or planes. I guess perhaps it prevents locks from their MANPADs, but maybe someone in the know could clue me in.

[Ahlerich]

Not sure why they need a Stealth drone for the Taliban. Its not like they have any radars or planes. I guess perhaps it prevents locks from their MANPADs, but maybe someone in the know could clue me in.

its a good playground to test it i guess

[Azog 150]

Looks good.

Aren't the British and French desgining something similar (I believe the British one is the BAE Teranis and I can't remember wha tthe French one is called)???

Not sure why they need a Stealth drone for the Taliban. Its not like they have any radars or planes. I guess perhaps it prevents locks from their MANPADs, but maybe someone in the know could clue me in.

The don't really need it. However, it is as good a place to test it as any, plus its one hell of a psychological weapon.

[Panzerbear]

haha Americans are sure suckers for all sorts of silly armpatches...

[king spartacus]

Pretty neat little aircraft if i do say so.

[Mikelus Trento]

Reminds me of the Luftwaffe's HE-128.

[Phalanx300]

Yes, always weird to see the Germans engineers at that time be so advanced. A lot of modern day arms still originated because of them.

[Stavroforos]

That is so awesome. I am such a sucker for UAVs.

[Katsumoto]

What makes this one different to the other UAV's they're using?

[Phier]

What makes this one different to the other UAV's they're using?

I'm going to guess, because its a jet, it flies really high, and costs 100* more per aircraft.

Its also most likely another step to a fully capable RC fighter.

[Katsumoto]

Ah right, makes sense.

[Heinz Guderian]

I'm pretty sure i shot one of these down. Also, the F-22 is trackable using ordinary mobile phone masts.

[Erik]

Where did they get the name “Beast of Kandahar” from?

Sounds like a cheap rip-off from “Beast of Tarin Kowt” - which is what the Taliban calls the Panzer Howitzer there.

[Kjertesvein]

French journalist seeing the plane landing on an air base.

[Caelius]

Not sure why they need a Stealth drone for the Taliban. Its not like they have any radars or planes. I guess perhaps it prevents locks from their MANPADs, but maybe someone in the know could clue me in.

Here you go, it's from just a few days ago

Mysteries Surround Afghanistan’s Stealth Drone (Updated)

Earlier this year, blurry pictures were released by the French magazine Air & Cosmos of a previously unknown stealth drone taken at Kandahar in Afghanistan. The photos, snapped in 2007, prompted a wave of speculation about the classified aircraft. That speculation grew even more intense this week, when a blog belonging to the French newspaper Libération released an even better photograph. But while the new picture may answers some questions, it also creates a heap of new mysteries. Chief among them: Why use such a fancy, stealthy aircraft in Afghanistan? The Taliban have neither the radar to spot the plane, nor the weaponry to shoot it down.

The lines of the drone clearly indicate a stealth design slightly reminiscent of the B-2A Spirit bomber, but smaller. Over on Ares, veteran aviation expert Bill Sweetman describes the wingspan as being perhaps eighty feet, and notes “One important detail: the overwing fairings are not B-2-like inlets, but cover some kind of equipment - satcoms on one side, perhaps, and a sensor on the other.”

The aircraft, which Bill has dubbed the Beast of Kandahar, is widely believed to be a product of Lockheed’s celebrated Skunk Works, home of the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. The Beast bears some resemblance to the Skunk Works’ Polecat drone, revealed in 2006. This was a private venture, costing some $27 million of Lockheed’s own money, designed to operate stealthily at high altitude and at supersonic speed. However, the Beast is not Polecat, as one look at the exhaust will indicate.

The Beast has also been identified with the covert Desert Prowler program, identified by black ops spotter Trevor Paglen. The Desert Prowler’s patches include the phrases “alone and unafraid” and “alone and on the prowl” as well as the figure of a wraith taken from an album cover by Insane Clown Posse. The wraith is said to represent the Grim Reaper…peculiar as it may seem, Paglen has shown that a remarkable amount of information can be gleaned from Black Ops patches and has written a book on the subject.

Meanwhile, there is considerable speculation on the Secret Projects Forum about technical aspects of the Beast, including attempts to calculate its exact size. The landing gear may have been borrowed from another aircraft, a common practice in drone circles to keep costs down. If the gear could be identified, it might say a lot about the size and weight of the Beast.

However, having established that there really is a stealthy U.S. drone operating out of Kandahar, the big question is what is it doing there? The Taliban do not have radar, so why deploy an expensive, stealthy done when conventional models like the Predator and Reaper work so well? And what’s the point of having a high-level, strategic craft in that theater?

There has of course been plenty of speculation. Much of it is focused on the idea that while it is based in Kandahar, the Beast may be carrying out missions outside of Afghanistan, with Iran and Pakistan both being possible candidates. For both of those radar stealth could be an important asset, and the beast may be carrying out signals-intercept or other tasks (looking for traces of nuclear material?).

This might make more sense than local operations: why risk an expensive, scarce black drone and run the chance of it being uncovered if you can do the job with other aircraft. On the other hand, if the Beast is a top-secret craft on a top-secret mission, why leave it out where it can be photographed?

One note of caution: the provenance of the photograph is not known, and it was published “without guarantee of origin.” So it might be some deliberate disinformation to put black plane-spotters off the scent of the real Beast.

UPDATE: Well whadya know. The Air Force has confirmed the Beast’s existence to Aviation Week. Officially, it’s an RQ-170 Sentinel, developed by Lockheed and flown by the flown by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron at Tonopah Test Range, Nev.

FYI the Taliban don't have MANPADS, which is precisely why so many people who've been talking about this plane have been wondering why it's in Central Asia.

It makes sense really....Afghanistan doesn't have an Air Force, much less control any of it's airspace.

What better location could there possibly be for the US to get the opportunity to spy (...or do whatever those Black Ops people do) on Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran with little risk of detection? Just my 2 cents on that issue.

haha Americans are sure suckers for all sorts of silly armpatches...

Black Ops program and the personnel who work in them pride themselves in manipulating the willfully ignorant.

It's called representing that which, by definition, must not be represented.

I suggest you look at some of those patches a little more closely my friend.

Here, i'll even help you out.

Take this one for example:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

See the red trajectory? Its a Molniya orbit shown from a different angle.



See the red dot in Asia? That means something.

See where the trajectory originates from? It's Vandenberg AFB in California.

See the five stars? They mean something.

The dragon obviously means something.

And if you could translate Latin you'd probably be weirded out like I first was.

That is so awesome. I am such a sucker for UAVs.

What makes this one different to the other UAV's they're using?

Technically guys, its a UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) for now. The USAF was never clear about what the plane actually does.

It could very well be a UCAV, we simply don't know.

As has already been noted though, the fact the thing is painted black already says a thing or two about how high it can go.

I'm pretty sure i shot one of these down. Also, the F-22 is trackable using ordinary mobile phone masts.

You keep believing that.



....you're not going to link to that obligatory BBC article I debunked now are you?

[Erik]

It makes sense really....Afghanistan doesn't have an Air Force, much less control any of it's airspace.

What better location could there possibly be for the US to get the opportunity to spy (...or do whatever those Black Ops people do) on Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran with little risk of detection? Just my 2 cents on that issue.

Or they could just be testing it, of course.

Even if it isn't directly useful in the war against Afghanistan, they gather valuable war-time experience.

[hellheaven1987]

Personally I believe they are just testing those drones; however the news would not be too pleasant to Iran and just gives Iran one more reason to support Taliban.

It would be quite interesting to see how Iran trying to get rid NATO's annoying watch on both Iraq and Afghanistan.