Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel

Lockheed Martin · United States · first flew 2007 · reconnaissance aircraft

The Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel is a stealthy unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the United States Air Force for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Its flying-wing design minimises radar signature.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, swept
E — Engines	1 × turbofan, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	4.5 m fuselage
T — Tail	No tailplane

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Low-observable flying-wing UAV operated by USAF
Blended tailless configuration with no vertical surfaces
Known as the 'Beast of Kandahar' from Afghan operations

A small flying-wing UAV with a blended body, no tail surfaces, and an embedded engine; the distinctive swept tailless shape is unique among known operational UAVs.

Specifications

The Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel has a length of 4.5 m (15 ft).
It has a wingspan of 20 m (66 ft).
Typical crew: 0 (unmanned).

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First publicly acknowledged around 2009 after photographs emerged from Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, the RQ-170 had been in development and operation for some years prior. An RQ-170 was used to surveil the Abbottabad compound before the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden; a separate example was lost over Iran in 2011.

Variants

Details of variants remain classified; the base RQ-170 is the only publicly acknowledged version.

Where you'll see it

Operated by the USAF and reportedly the CIA for ISR missions, notably over Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 4,893 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.