Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel (Wraith)

History

The Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel is a relatively new stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) officially classified as a low-observable unmanned aerial system (UAS) in its design Stealth properties are implied. Sentinel (introduced in 2007) is considered a "low-cost" UAS that is built into the design of existing legacy aircraft/UAVs with "stealth-friendly" properties. Sentinel is designed to reconnaissance and surveillance of enemy elements at high altitudes through a variety of available airborne systems. The final product becomes a single-minded development and thus can be procured at low cost in a short period of time, allowing services such as the CIA to handle their covert missions through an efficient platform.

Sentinel's "RQ" designation identifies the aircraft as a reconnaissance intelligence-gathering platform -- a stark contrast to the "MQ" family of armed drones like the Predator and Reaper. Because its operations are largely focused on missions administered by the CIA, many details of Sentinel remain secret.

The vehicle was developed and supported by the top-secret Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs division, which specializes in developing cost-effective drone solutions to meet U.S. Department of Defense requirements. The U.S.

Air Force lists it as one of its active unmanned aerial systems, but at the time of writing, of course, few design and performance specifications are available.

The appearance of the Sentinel is a true "flying wing" as it does not have any vertical tail surfaces or fins. The wing elements are nicely swept back and have a rounded leading edge and a compound trailing edge. In many ways, the Sentinel looks like a scaled-down version of the Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bomberespecially from the top and side profiles. The fuselage is cambered to house an engine - believed to be a GE TF34 series turbofan - while the payload bay is anchored to the lower centerline area of ??the fuselage.

The use of centralized power trousers and payload bays allows the wing to take full advantage of its interior - for additional gear or fuel supplies. The engine's air intake is notable because it's grilled in a unique way that's inherently unobtrusive. One thing to note is that the exhaust section is not shielded by the underlying wing surface like other stealth aircraft. A pair of bubbles appear outside the hull bulge and may contain additional communications or sensor equipment - which may give the Sentinel the ability to be out of sight (BLOS). The landing gear is a traditional tricycle arrangement, with a pair of single-wheel main gear legs and a single-wheel nose gear leg, all of which are fully retractable.

There is no evidence that the low observable (LO) features on the edges of the landing gear panels found on stealth aircraft such as the F-117 Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor, and F-35 Lightning IIall Lockheed productsare very Obviously.

The Sentinel's belly-mounted windowed payload kit is likely to be of a modular design, ranging from full-color, full-motion, real-time cameras to nuclear material "sniffing" sensors (for detecting radioisotopes, etc.). While the Sentinel is a reconnaissance platform at its core, it's not impossible that the Sentinel could be equipped with guided or homing missiles like the Predator.

It is also assumed that the Sentinel will contain the latest other infrared and electro-optical systems required by the modern battlefield to meet its mission requirements.

Sentinel remains a top-secret product, and many of its performance specs are similarly hard to come by, so only estimates can be made. However, its jet-powered nature gives it performance qualities that certainly surpass those of conventional propeller-powered drones like the Predator, including a service ceiling that perfectly matches modern military fighter jets possibly as high as 50,000 feet in some reports. These dimensions are believed to be close to a 26-meter wingspan, with a standing height of 1.84 meters.

Based on available evidence, the length is also estimated to be 4.5 meters.

The Sentinel is operated by U.S. Air Force personnel from the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron, located outside the Tonopah Proving Ground, Nevada. The 30th Squadron is part of the 432d Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, and is administered by Air Combat Command. The group went live as early as 2005, and by 2007 the Sentinels were clearly visible in stills from Kandahar International Airport, implying an active involvement in Afghanistan at the time. The RQ-170 was used to hunt down 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden to great effect.

According to reports, the system is located near the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, where the fugitives are hiding in a sealed, well-protected compound that Pakistani authorities cannot see. During the U.S. operation, the U.S. military was monitoring Pakistani military communication lines for possible links to bin Laden's hideout, but U.S.

Special Forces (SEAL) personnel entered and attacked the compound and its inhabitants, leaving the Taliban leadership People died where he stood behind.

In December 2011, the Iranians lost an RQ-170. The U.S. military initially claimed it was shot down, but Iranian state television countered that its electronic warfare (EW) unit hacked into Iranian drone communications, effectively seizing the plane in flight. The Sentinel was operating under the direction of the CIA, ostensibly to support continued operations in Afghanistan - but spying on the Iranians has proven to be a more appropriate task, as the Americans have previously used for this purpose their drones.

Captured RQ-170s have since appeared in images and video, showing the American product as some sort of "trophy" with only minimal damage - a small dent in the leading edge of the port - noted. Additionally, it appears that the main wing assemblies were removed prior to display - these were either manually removed for transport or snapped off the fuselage during a subsequent forced landing.

It's worth noting, however, that the RQ-170 did not show burn marks or any serious damage that would normally be expected from impact. The Iranian government has since lodged a complaint with the United Nations over the U.S. invasion of Iranian airspace. In any case, the Iranian TV footage provided is real, as the product is a very close imitation of the Lockheed RQ-170. However, Iran's history of fabricated news has led some to doubt its origins.

Iran's close relationship with China also suggests the technology could be sold or shared with another U.S. foe.

The RQ-170 has also been tested in South Korean airspace, where it is no doubt stationed to help track North Korea's ongoing nuclear weapons program.

Specification

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Production

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Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

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