A Uncommon Have a look at the Secretive RQ-170 Operations at Creech Air Drive Base

[ad_1] A newly launched video reveals RQ-170 Sentinels at Creech Air Drive Base, providing additionally a uncommon dimension comparability with an MQ-9 Reaper and close by pickup vehicles. Lower than two weeks after the photographs and video of the mysterious ‘ Dorito-shaped ’ plane flying late at night time close to Space 51, Anders Otteson, the well-known creator of the favored Uncanny Expeditions YouTube channel , revealed a brand new attention-grabbing video, offering a detailed take a look at the RQ-170’s nest positioned at Creech Air Drive Base, Nevada. The plane just lately returned to the highlight throughout Operation Absolute Resolve, when it offered overwatch as Venezuelan President Maduro was captured.

Whereas U.S. officers didn't explicitly title the RQ-170 among the many property which took half within the operation, movies exhibiting the plane landing in Puerto Rico rapidly emerged because the property concerned recovered. Virtually a month later, on Jan. 29, 2026, Lockheed Martin’s CEO Jim Taiclet, throughout a quarterly earnings name , confirmed that the stealth drone was certainly concerned within the Operation to seize Maduro.

The Video As we defined in a earlier report right here at The Aviationist, Otteson routinely units up camp in distant and scarcely identified areas with the particular aim of documenting exercise hardly ever seen by the general public. In his most up-to-date clip, Anders arrange a place in public land close to Indian Springs, on the south facet of Creech AFB.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFA_9XDTsQY[/embed] A number of MQ-9A Reaper Remotely Piloted Plane (RPA) are instantly seen throughout floor operations. Creech is in truth residence to the 432nd Wing , the primary U.S. Air Drive unit devoted to unmanned plane, the bottom primarily hosts the MQ-9A Reaper.

It's subsequently no shock to see quite a few Reapers getting ready for flight or parked on the ramp whereas being attended by upkeep crews. Notably, the primary MQ-9 noticed had a black tail, repainted in 2023 to characterize the Reaper Plane Upkeep Unit, and was additionally carrying an inert GBU-38 Joint Direct Assault Munition (JDAM) underneath its wing.

The MQ-9A with the celebrative black tail of the Reaper Plane Upkeep Unit. (Picture credit score: Anders Otteson @UncannyExpedition) Creech makes ample use of the big coaching areas offered by the Nevada Check and Coaching Vary (NTTR). The place of the bottom, secluded and surrounded by high-security, restricted airspace, makes it ultimate for a secretive platform: the RQ-170A Sentinel .

Official particulars concerning the RQ-170 are restricted, however the fleet is estimated to comprise between 20 and 30 airframes. These are operated by the thirtieth and forty fourth Reconnaissance Squadrons, each assigned to the 432nd Operations Group of the 432nd Wing.

The existence of the “Beast of Kandahar”, because it was dubbed following the primary sightings throughout a deployment in Afghanistan in 2007, was acknowledged by the U.S. Air Drive for the primary time in 2009. Nonetheless, the RQ-170 stays a extremely elusive platform to this present day. For sure, as one would possibly count on contemplating Otteson was observing operations on the secretive drone’s residence base, the RQ-170 made an look within the new video.

The empty hangar with a primary RQ-170 sitting simply in entrance of it. (Picture credit score: Anders Otteson @UncannyExpedition) “I used to be watching the Reapers take off and land for a lot of the day from a hill on the opposite facet of the freeway from Creech,” Anders informed us. “Later within the afternoon, I observed that one of many giant hangars behind the Reapers, on the north facet of the bottom, was open and I might make out the slim profile of an RQ-170 out entrance. The crews working round it and the opposite plane actually gave a great sense of scale as to how small the plane is.”

“Not lengthy after, the second landed and taxied over to the hangar. I hiked alongside the hills a bit to try to get an unobstructed view straight into that hangar and by chance I used to be in a position to see in for a couple of minutes whereas the lighting was good and the door was open. There have been three RQ-170s inside,” he continues.

Notably, contained in the hangar, a banner with the Skunk Works ‘ brand will be seen on the wall, beneath the U.S. flag. The truth is, the RQ-170 is without doubt one of the many superior platforms constructed by Lockheed Martin’s secretive division.

The RQ-170s within the hangar, with the banner on wall exhibiting the Skunk Works’ brand. (Picture credit score: Anders Otteson @UncannyExpedition) A “Pocket-Dimension” Drone The size of the RQ-170 are among the many unconfirmed particulars of this platform, with varied figures obtainable from completely different sources. The U.S. Air Drive, which operates the unmanned plane, solely revealed a quick reality sheet years in the past, with out together with specs.

The one official supply up to now seems to be a U.S. Army visual aircraft recognition training manual . This guide, dated Might 2017, lists a size of 14 ft 9 in (4.5 m) and a wingspan of 65 ft 7 in (19.99 m).

These dimensions would put the wingspan near the MQ-9A’s, which is 66 ft (20.12 m). Nevertheless, the proportions of the RQ-170 don’t match, pointing to a smaller wingspan, as confirmed additionally by satellite images of the RQ-170 beside an MQ-9 at Creech AFB, with estimates of 38 ft (11.58 m) which look like a more in-depth match.

The completely different dimensions are straightforward to visualise in Ander’s video, ranging from the shut encounter on the taxiway the place the RQ-170 and the MQ-9 confronted one another. It may be clearly seen that the Sentinel’s wingspan is far shorter than the Reaper’s.

The shut encounter on the taxiway the place the RQ-170 and the MQ-9 confronted one another. (Picture credit score: Anders Otteson @UncannyExpedition) One other glimpse into the scale of the secretive plane will be caught because the drone is being attended by floor personnel throughout towing operations. A pickup truck can be seen simply towing the plane, whose size seems similar to the truck itself (presumably a Ford F250 Tremendous Obligation with a minimal size of 231.8 inch or 5.89 m).

As for the peak, the personnel close by assist to get a good suggestion. Some estimates obtainable on-line point out a attainable top of about 6 ft (1.8 m), which look like largely right, judging from the video.

The RQ-170 being towed in entrance of the hangar after touchdown, with the personnel and the pickup truck offering a great reference for the dimensions of the drone. (Picture credit score: Anders Otteson @UncannyExpedition) Nonetheless within the Shadows Two A long time Later Seen on this mild, the newly launched footage from Creech AFB provides an necessary piece to the still-fragmentary public image of the RQ-170 Sentinel, a platform that has remained largely within the shadows since its first look almost 20 years in the past. As we have now detailed in a number of earlier stories right here at The Aviationist , the RQ-170 occupies a unique niche inside the U.S. Air Drive stock as one of many first operational low-observable unmanned plane designed particularly for high-end intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

For the reason that first sightings in 2007, the Sentinel has develop into emblematic of a technology of stealth UAVs that bridged the hole between typical RPAs such because the MQ-9 Reaper and extra superior, still-classified techniques just like the RQ-180. Its flying-wing configuration, compact dimensions and low observability level to a design optimized for penetrating or carefully monitoring contested airspace whereas minimizing the chance of detection, with out the lengthy endurance of the MQ-9 or the RQ-4 .

Earlier imagery which we coated right here at The Aviationist have proven the plane working from a small variety of extremely managed areas removed from public scrutiny, such because the NTTR and the Air Drive Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The brand new video is subsequently useful as a result of it presents uncommon perception into the Sentinel’s bodily scale, every day operations and coexistence with extra acquainted platforms just like the MQ-9A Reaper.

Whereas it doesn't reveal delicate particulars which is likely to be topic to operational safety (OPSEC), the footage contributes to a extra concrete understanding of a system that right this moment nonetheless stays formally largely undocumented, but continues to characterize an necessary milestone within the evolution of stealthy unmanned aviation.

We strongly recommend our readers take a look at the Uncanny Expeditions YouTube channel to look at the complete video in addition to his different adventures. Be sure to additionally observe Anders on Instagram here .