Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel

seruriermarshal said:
A photo RQ-170 in Creech AFB
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They're present there all the time.
 
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X-47B getting a drink on 4/25/15. -SP
 

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Nice pics fightingirish ;D
 

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So I wonder if it can refuel autonomously or if it needs a degree of human intervention.
 
quellish said:
Jeb said:
fightingirish said:
foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com - Is This Proof That The US Air Force Can Aerially Refuel Stealth Drones?


I will wait and see, if the RQ-170 can really be refuelled in the air. The RQ-170 might be just using the tanker radar shadow.
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I want to know where they think a boom could plug in on the RQ-170.
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That is a very good question.
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Wouldn't it have a similar system to what we've recently seen in the B-2 refuelling video. In the article the photos came from it was claimed it did indeed refuel after those photos were taken.
 
So what? Do you understand what size receptacle is on B-2?
There are dozens of hi-res photos of captured RQ-170. Neither has something close to size/position for LO receptacle. Neither it mentioned on Iranian-made cutaway CGI of UAV - and that detail that hardly would be missed.
 

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What and you think it hasn't evolved in the ten years in use or in the three years since Iran?

Also why would it be hanging around a refuelling aircraft if not refuelling, I don't really buy the radar shadowing business.
 
Classified UAV ability for operational aerial refueling - so classified that Northrop spends millions to repeat it in white world.
And then web blog discloses it and source and author are not in party vans?
 
flateric said:
Classified UAV ability for operational aerial refueling - so classified that Northrop spends millions to repeat it in white world.
And then web blog discloses it and source and author are not in party vans?
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Let's not forget that a large portion of the US government money spent on NGB and LRS-B was to develop automated inflight refueling. Northrop, Lockheed, Rockwell Collins, Calspan, and others all received government funding to develop automated in flight refueling in unclassified programs over the last decade - without (yet) producing anything close to an operational system.


There is no reason that I know of to in flight refuel the RQ-170 and it would be terribly difficult to add for many reasons. It is a physically small aircraft with limited internal volume. Installing a slipway and the necessary equipment to receive and distribute fuel while in flight would not be trivial. The uplink radomes present their own challenges. The aircraft already has considerable range and endurance which makes in flight refueling considerably less attractive.
 
quellish said:
It is a physically small aircraft with limited internal volume.
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...that also would add a BUNCH of problems while flying behind big vortices generator aka KC-135
 
This would give the pilots.plenty of practise.for using a flying wing behind a refueller.


That and the flight software engineers .
 
Appears to be a new video only uploaded a day ago.

https://youtu.be/fAovgbqp9OI
 
:eek:

New shots of a modified / adapted 170.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/8036/exclusive-uniquely-configured-rq-170-stealth-spy-drone-appears-at-vandenberg-afb
 

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Another article on this sighting from Aviation Week.

http://aviationweek.com/defense/pictures-lockheed-martin-rq-170-sentinel-sighting-california
 
Flyaway said:
Another article on this sighting from Aviation Week.

http://aviationweek.com/defense/pictures-lockheed-martin-rq-170-sentinel-sighting-california
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Lockheed went and got themselves a miniature "Sensorcraft" by the looks of it. Still searching for the images, IIRC, Northrop had this near exact same configuration for its 'smart skins in structure'. Leading edges all tricked out and underwing panels.

Also, great to see finally that it's easily air transportable.


A neat read about smart skins and embedded radars in UAV systems.

http://www.aviationtoday.com/2005/11/01/product-focus-conformal-antennas-sharing-the-load/
 
I wonder if the RQ-170 might have been testing out sensors at Vandenberg by subsequently observing the Atlas V launch.
 
Ian33 said:
:eek:

New shots of a modified / adapted 170.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/8036/exclusive-uniquely-configured-rq-170-stealth-spy-drone-appears-at-vandenberg-afb
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http://www.afcea.org/content/?q=flying-eye-sky

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/over-the-horizon-200103/

A small wager on the RQ-170 having been utilised in an effort to develop smart skin air to air and air to surface radar.
 
Shedding Some Light On The Air Force's Most Shadowy Drone Squadron

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/19318/uncovering-the-air-forces-most-mysterious-drone-squadron
 
Defining the Future of ISR & UAS Technology

Nothing particular new in that video. Just wondering why LM chose to publish it now...

 
Grey Havoc said:
The timing is interesting.
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AF seems to be interested in an MQ-9 replacement including commercial company proposed strategies...Not saying its related but clearly LM SW would want to promote their capabilities with OMS and UAS in general.

Roper: Air Force to establish MQ-9 replacement effort in FY-22 budget | InsideDefense.com

The Air Force has begun studying options to replace the MQ-9 Reaper and aims to identify a way forward in the fiscal year 2022 budget proposal, a senior official said yesterday.
insidedefense.com insidedefense.com
 
Come back home to Roost..

www.thedrive.com

RQ-170 Sentinel Stealth Spy Drone Photographed Landing At Plant 42 In Palmdale

13 years after it was first spotted, the RQ-170 still lives a secretive life. So, returning to its place of birth in broad daylight is a bit shocking.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com

B4CDB85B-7D42-4C03-901C-21CA3DA8EDCF.jpeg

Albeit with Beech 55 chase plane, which laughingly reminds me of the Pave Eagle program during Vietnam War using unmanned Beach Barons designated QU-22.
 
USAF mentions RQ-170 operations:

"Since Kelly’s visit in October, the 432nd AEW has begun flying MQ-9 Reaper sorties out of Romania, successfully deployed and redeployed RQ-170 Sentinel forces, and broke ground on the 25th Attack Group’s forthcoming headquarters and operations building at Shaw AFB, South Carolina," the 432nd's Public Affairs Office wrote in an official news item.
"RPAs [remotely piloted aircraft] are meeting the needs of Combatant Commanders today – in both contested and non-contested environments," Air Force Colonel Stephen Jones, the Wing's commander, said in a statement. "The wide array of mission sets the MQ-9 and RQ-170 are asked to perform remains our hallmark – we do not shy away from these tough tasks; we remain ready to take them on in all environments."
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www.thedrive.com

Air Force Makes Extremely Rare Mention Of Deployment Of RQ-170 Stealth Drones

More than 10 years after the Air Force publicly acknowledged the existence of these stealth drones, information about their exploits remains limited.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
 
TomcatViP said:
USAF mentions RQ-170 operations:

"Since Kelly’s visit in October, the 432nd AEW has begun flying MQ-9 Reaper sorties out of Romania, successfully deployed and redeployed RQ-170 Sentinel forces, and broke ground on the 25th Attack Group’s forthcoming headquarters and operations building at Shaw AFB, South Carolina," the 432nd's Public Affairs Office wrote in an official news item.
"RPAs [remotely piloted aircraft] are meeting the needs of Combatant Commanders today – in both contested and non-contested environments," Air Force Colonel Stephen Jones, the Wing's commander, said in a statement. "The wide array of mission sets the MQ-9 and RQ-170 are asked to perform remains our hallmark – we do not shy away from these tough tasks; we remain ready to take them on in all environments."
Click to expand...

www.thedrive.com

Air Force Makes Extremely Rare Mention Of Deployment Of RQ-170 Stealth Drones

More than 10 years after the Air Force publicly acknowledged the existence of these stealth drones, information about their exploits remains limited.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
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Hang on is the article saying that the RQ-170 is right here in Europe ..albeit operating out of Romania ...

cheers
 
No its says that the 432nd AEW has begun flying MQ-9 Reaper sorties out of Romania.
It doesn't mention where the RQ-170 was "successfully deployed and redeployed".
The article goes into waffle mode over were the RQ-170s might have been and where they might be (e.g. anywhere where the bad guys are).

Deployed and redeployed suggests that they were based somewhere (either in the US or overseas) and then moved somewhere else, presumably to cover a hot spot at some point during the last six months.
 
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Hood said:
No its says that the 432nd AEW has begun flying MQ-9 Reaper sorties out of Romania.
It doesn't mention where the RQ-170 was "successfully deployed and redeployed".
The article goes into waffle mode over were the RQ-170s might have been and where they might be (e.g. anywhere where there the bad guys are).

Deployed and redeployed suggests that they were based somewhere (either in the US or overseas) and then moved somewhere else, presumably to cover a hot spot at some point during the last six months.
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It reads a bit like someone stretching a small amount of info to fit a required minimal word count.
 

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