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FIELD GUIDE / DRONE ATLAS / 01

Tactical reconnaissance · Reusable · reconnaissance

RQ-170 Sentinel

The US Air Force publicly identifies RQ-170 Sentinel as a low observable reconnaissance aircraft from Lockheed Martin. Its fact sheet names operating units but publishes no dimensions or performance figures. Those specifications remain unknown here.[1][2]

Design origin
United States[1]
Research edition
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Photograph: US Air Force photograph of RQ-170 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, released under FOIA.
US Air Force photograph of RQ-170 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, released under FOIA.United States Air Force photograph, released to Joseph Trevithick via FOIA · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons · Resized
Diagram and size references

No scaled drawing is provided for this configuration. See the sourced dimensions and their limitations.

Schematic top view of the general configuration. Not to scale and not an exact depiction of the model.

Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.

The numbers, with their sources

Intervals preserve the published bounds; they are not statistical confidence intervals. A blank lower or upper bound stays open. Values belong to the named configuration, not every aircraft.

Body length

Not publicly established

Wingspan

Not publicly established

Take-off mass

Not publicly established

Reported speed

Not publicly established

Published flight range

Not publicly established

Endurance

Not publicly established

Payload

Not publicly established

Engine / propulsion

Not publicly established

Guidance / control link

Not publicly established

First flight / first reported use

Not publicly established

Manufacturer

Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs[1]RQ-170 · USAF public fact sheet

Operators

US Air Force: 432nd Wing and 30th Reconnaissance Squadron, as named in its fact sheet.[1]RQ-170 · USAF public fact sheet

Service status

Fielded, according to the US Air Force.[1]RQ-170 · USAF public fact sheet

Same-class research profiles · published range, km · open bounds remain open

Direct answers

Designer / manufacturer

Catalogue attribution: Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs. www.af.mil · www.iai.it

Dimensions

Body length: Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

Wingspan: Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

Range

Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

Speed

Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

Weight

Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

Payload

Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

Price / cost

Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

First operational use

Not publicly established in the reviewed sources.

also known as RQ-170

Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.

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Frequently asked questions

What is RQ-170 Sentinel?

The US Air Force publicly identifies RQ-170 Sentinel as a low observable reconnaissance aircraft from Lockheed Martin. Its fact sheet names operating units but publishes no dimensions or performance figures. Those specifications remain unknown here. US Air Force · Istituto Affari Internazionali

One scale. Different machines.

No scaled drawing is provided for this configuration. See the sourced dimensions and their limitations.

Human height is an illustrative 1.8 m; bus length an illustrative 12 m. Car length uses the cited MINI specification. Vehicle heights and drone side contours are schematic. Top views preserve published length and span; an absent dimension is never guessed.

One car length here is 3.821 m: MINI Cooper 3 door, March 2020 specification.

In our archive

Not yet named as a model in this archive — sources usually say only “drone” or name the family.

Browse this category · Tactical reconnaissance

Where this type appears

Counts follow model/family links in the archive. A general register link does not identify a model.

Family & configurations

RQ-170 Sentinel

No sourced family relationship recorded in this edition. Similar roles do not establish a common design.

Form, sound & identification limits

  • The public USAF description establishes the mission, not a published specification sheet: “reconnaissance and surveillance”[1]
  • IAI discusses RQ-170 separately from the reported RQ-180. Neither the names nor their specifications are interchangeable. “RQ-170 Sentinel”[2]

Shape or sound alone cannot identify a drone. Follow local public-safety alerts; do not approach wreckage.

No licensed, model-attested recording is available in our sound library.

What does it cost?

Published USD figures use different price bases and years. Airframes, export packages and support are not equivalent. These are not current offers or verified production costs.

Unknown in reviewed sources

Countermeasures in public analysis

No type-specific, independently supported summary is included in this edition.

Source notebook

  1. US Air Force · RQ-170 Sentinel fact sheet

    Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 08 Nov 2026 · Official report; not an independent test

    Consulted via search index; direct page unavailable

  2. Istituto Affari Internazionali · Above and Beyond: State of the Art of Uncrewed Combat Aerial Systems and Future Perspectives

    Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 08 Nov 2026 · Approximate / analyst compilation

Cite this profile

DroneLedger. RQ-170 Sentinel. Research edition 2026-11-08. https://droneincidents.com/drones/rq-170-sentinel/

Permanent research edition