The United States is said to have relied on the RQ-170 Sentinel (hereafter RQ-170), an advanced stealth drone operated by the U.S. Air Force, as a key asset in the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the 3rd local time. First spotted years ago in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the RQ-170 was dubbed the Beast of Kandahar and was also deployed in the 2011 operation to kill Osama bin Laden.
The War Zone (TWZ), a U.S. military news outlet, reported on the 4th that an RQ-170 was spotted at Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory near Venezuela. Since last year, the site has been a key hub for expanding U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, tasked with regional surveillance and support missions. TWZ said, "It appears that at least one to two RQ-170s were deployed in the operation to capture Maduro."
The RQ-170 is a cutting-edge stealth reconnaissance drone developed by Skunk Works, the secret development arm of Lockheed Martin. Unlike typical drones, it has no tail and features only roughly 20-meter wings on each side in a manta ray-like shape. First spotted in 2007 over Kandahar, Afghanistan, the drone began to be called the Beast of Kandahar for resembling a menacing alien craft.
It was not until December 2009, roughly two years later, that the U.S. Air Force acknowledged the RQ-170's existence and revealed its official designation. The exact number is unknown, but estimates range from 20 to 30 airframes.
TWZ described the RQ-170 as "an older airframe designed at least 20 years ago, yet still a stealth drone that can penetrate deep into hostile airspace to collect hard-to-detect intelligence and is highly useful for surveillance missions."
That is thanks to a suite of sensors. The RQ-170 is believed to carry a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that can capture high-resolution images of the ground in bad weather or at night; an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar with moving target indication; electro-optical/infrared video cameras; and electronic and signals intelligence collection gear. It also has two antennas, allowing it to perform different tasks simultaneously.
The RQ-170 is also known to have been deployed in the operation to kill Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. For months before the raid, the drone flew over bin Laden's hideout to analyze residents' patterns of life, and on the day of the operation it circled overhead, transmitting real-time video to the United States. The footage seen in the photo of then-President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tensely watching the screen is said to have been shot and relayed in real time by the RQ-170.
The RQ-170 is also credited with playing a major role in the operation to capture Maduro. TWZ analyzed that "the RQ-170 likely proved useful in covertly tracking Maduro's movements and discerning not only his patterns of life but also the disposition of his security detail." It added, "While the operation was underway, it likely circled overhead to provide real-time information and play an essential role in detecting unexpected threats." It was thanks to the RQ-170 that U.S. President Donald Trump could say, "I watched the operation in real time. It was like watching a 'TV show.'"
The RQ-170 also has a painful past. In 2011, one RQ-170 monitoring Iran's nuclear facilities was seized by Iranian forces. The United States said it crashed due to an airframe malfunction, but Iran claimed it spoofed communications and manipulated GPS coordinates to force the drone to land. The United States demanded the RQ-170's return, but Iran refused, saying an apology for violating its airspace must come first. Instead, Iran disassembled and copied the RQ-170 to build its own stealth drone, the Shahed-171.
The RQ-170 has also been deployed to Korea. According to TWZ, an RQ-170 landed at the U.S. Air Force base in Gunsan, North Jeolla, in Oct. 2009. However, the reason the RQ-170 came to Korea at the time remains classified and has not been disclosed.
TWZ said, "It is unclear what specific trigger led to the RQ-170's deployment to Korea," but noted, "North Korea conducted its second nuclear test at the Punggye-ri site in May 2009, and in April it launched the Unha-2 space launch vehicle from the West Sea launch site, which was believed to be tied to intercontinental ballistic missile technology development."