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