Mystery UAV declassified

7th December 2009 - 13:00 GMT | by Darren Lake, Tony Osborne in London

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The mystery UAV first revealed by UVOnline back in April now has an identity.

In a statement, the United States Air Force (USAF) announced the operation of the RQ-170 Sentinel, a low-observable unmanned air system built by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs division, better known as the Skunk Works.

The aircraft were built to meet the needs of increased intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support and come under the command of the USAF's Air Combat Command. The statement goes further and announces that the RQ-170s are operated by the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron based at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada,

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Darren Lake

Author

Darren Lake

Darren has more than two decades of experience in aerospace and defence journalism. After completing …

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Tony Osborne

Author

Tony Osborne

Tony was deputy editor of Defence Helicopter and Rotorhub magazines before joining Aviation Week in …

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