The Sentinel remains a highly top secret product and so many of its performance specifications remain equally hard to come by and are therefore just estimates. Its jet-propelled nature does, however, allow it performance qualities that surely surpass conventional propeller-powered UAVs such as the Predator including a service ceiling well in line with modern military fighter aircraft - perhaps as high as 50,000 feet in some reports. Dimensions are thought to be in the vicinity of a 26 meter wingspan with a standing height equal to 1.84 meters. A length of 4.5 meters is also estimated based on available evidence.
Sentinels are operated by United States Air Force personnel from the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron out of the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. The 30th operates under the 432d Air Expeditionary Wing of Creech Air Force Base Nevada which is governed by Air Combat Command. The group was online as early as 2005 and, in 2007, the Sentinel was clearly visible via still photographs at the Kandahar International Airport , assuming active participation in Afghan operations of the time. The RQ-170 was used to excellent effect in the pursuit of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden. The system reportedly was on station around the Pakistani town of Abbottabad where the fugitive was hiding in a sealed, well-protected compound in plain sight of Pakistani authorities. While Pakistani military lines of communications were monitored by US forces for possible connections to the Bin Laden hideout during the operation, US special forces elements (Navy SEALs) moved in and assailed the compound and its occupants, leaving the Taliban leader dead where he stood.
A lone RQ-170 was lost to the Iranians in December of 2011. The US military claimed initially that it was shot down but Iranian state television counter-claimed that their Electronic Warfare (EW) division hacked into the communications signal of the drone and effectively commandeered the aircraft while in flight. This Sentinel was being operated under the direction of the CIA and purportedly in support of ongoing operations in Afghanistan - however, spying on the Iranians proved a more suitable task, the Americans having used their drones for this purpose previously. The captured RQ-170 has since appeared in pictures and video showcasing the American product as a "trophy" of sorts with only minimal damage - a small dent to the portside leading wing edge - being noticed. Also it appears as though the main wing assemblies had been removed prior to showcasing - these either removed manually for transportation or broken from the fuselage in a subsequent crash landing. However, it is noteworthy that the RQ-170 did not appear with burn marks or heavy damage of any kind that is usually expected from an impact. The government of Iran has since filed a complaint with the UN about the American invasion of Iranian airspace. By all accounts, the provided Iranian television footage is authentic as the product mimics the Lockheed RQ-170 very closely. Iran's history of fabricating news, however, leads some to suspect its origins. Iran's close relationship with China also suggests that the technology may either be sold or shared with another US enemy.
The RQ-170 has also been notably tested in South Korean airspace, undoubtedly deployed there to help keep track of the ongoing North Korean nuclear weapons program.
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