Unveiling the ‘Beast of Kandahar’ - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Unveiling the ‘Beast of Kandahar’

Secret plane? What secret plane? Oh, that secret plane.

If you passed through Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan and thought you saw a plane that looked something like a miniature version of the stealth B-2 Spirit bomber, you weren’t seeing things.

The Air Force now acknowledges it has flown a stealthy remote-controlled aircraft called the RQ-170 Sentinel out of Kandahar.

For two years, the RQ-170 has been the Air Force’s Bigfoot. Photos and drawings of the stealthy UAV, also called the “Beast of Kandahar,” have surfaced, producing shrugs and no-comments from service officials. In early December, a clear photograph of the jet’s left side appeared on aviation Web sites, perhaps prompting the Air Force to ’fess up.

Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Program — better known as Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif. — built the RQ-170. Like the Air Force, Lockheed refused to discuss details about the plane’s performance and capacities.

The “RQ” designation indicates the Sentinel is unarmed and unmanned, like the RQ-4 Global Hawk. The “170” is anyone’s guess.

Airmen in the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron operate the RQ-170. The 30th is based deep in Air Force’s restricted Nevada training range at Tonopah Test Range Airfield, once the secret home of the Air Force’s MiG squadron and the F-117 Nighthawk. The 30th is part of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev.

Many aviation experts question why the Air Force needs a stealth unmanned aerial vehicle inside Afghanistan to fight the Taliban — an enemy with no air force or radar. Experts such as Phil Finnegan, a UAV analyst at the Teal Group, an aerospace consulting firm, suggest the stealth capabilities are being used to fly in nearby countries. Neighboring Iran has an air force and air defense system that would require stealth technology to penetrate.