Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel ("Beast of Kandahar").
documentedsource_actorPrivate Aerospace Contractors
Stealth flying-wing reconnaissance drone built by Skunk Works (internal P-170) for the USAF/CIA. First flew at Groom Lake ~2005; one captured by Iran December 2011.
Post-9/11 stealth ISR UAV; 90-ft flying wing. Photographed at Kandahar 2007, prompting Bill Sweetman's 'Beast of Kandahar' nickname. At least one monitored the 2 May 2011 bin Laden raid. In December 2011 Iran obtained one largely intact (Tehran claimed GPS-spoofing; the US denied a 'hack'), later unveiling the Saeqeh derivative. ~20–30 in USAF service as of 2021; Lockheed publicly acknowledged RQ-170 use in a 2026 Venezuela operation.