The RQ-180 may replace the RQ-4 Global Hawk (above), a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that does not have stealth capabilities. (Public Domain)
U.S. media revealed that a secret unmanned stealth reconnaissance aircraft, the RQ-180, located at Area 51, may have been in service for years and has been deployed to Guam to deal with the Chinese Communist Party, but the public is unaware of it. Recently, a U.S. media said that the RQ-180 will be unveiled and become the core of the air warfare revolution!
The Drive reported in early April that the U.S. unmanned stealth reconnaissance aircraft, the RQ-180, would be unveiled and become the centerpiece of an air warfare revolution!
The report said that although the Pentagon has silently built the RQ-180, the U.S. Air Force has never officially acknowledged its existence, and the relevant details are almost unknown to the outside world, but according to various public information and analysis, we can still get a glimpse of the whole picture.
As far as we know, the RQ-180 may be a high-altitude network node and reconnaissance platform, able to penetrate and continue to penetrate enemy airspace, and will undoubtedly become an important role in the revolutionary air war and network ecology in the future.
The RQ-180 is unrivaled, the Liberty Times said on April 6, citing a related report. This high-altitude, long-endurance concealment drone development project, which includes three development phases, is currently in its first phase, which has lasted more than two years, and the RQ-180 drone may be the most important military aircraft in the development of the U.S. military aircraft.
In early October of last year, several media outlets, including Aviation Week, reported that a batwing drone matching the description of the RQ-180 flew level in broad daylight within a military combat zone near Edwards Air Force Base, California, at an estimated altitude of 20,000 feet, leaving a thick, high-altitude condensation wake in the clear sky.
The photo was taken by photographer Rob Kolinsky, who posted it online in late October and said, “This thing flew over my house a few weeks ago and I still haven’t figured out what it is?”
It is presumed to be the U.S. military’s most top-secret RQ-180 high-altitude reconnaissance drone, after Aviation Week magazine revealed the RQ-180, a secret unmanned stealth reconnaissance aircraft located at Area 51 that was developed and built by Northrop Grumman and may have been in service for years, but was not known to the public. This is the first time photos have emerged of the actual aircraft in flight.
The photos show a drone that largely matches many of the assumed features of the previously speculated RQ-180 drone, with a large-span swept-back flight wing, a simple trailing edge configuration, closely paired twin turbofan engines (which appear to have only one condensing wake), and more, according to the report.
In addition, the photos show that this RQ-180 high aspect ratio (Aspect Ratio) wing has a larger span than any other known large unmanned aircraft, but with a relatively low trailing edge.
Concept drawing of the B-21 stealth bomber. (Public domain)
The 2019 report also revealed that “there is growing evidence that this stealth drone is fully deployed with the U.S. Air Force, with possibly seven RQ-180s in service.”
The new drone has a flying wing layout design more similar to the B-21 stealth bomber being developed by the U.S. military, but is slightly smaller and relies on stealth capabilities to penetrate enemy air defense systems.
According to the report, the RQ-180 has been fully operational, performing long-range intelligence gathering, reconnaissance and electronic attack missions for the U.S. Air Force, replacing the RQ-4 Global Hawk, which does not have stealth capabilities, and in view of the world’s high-end rivals in anti-access/area denial capabilities have made great strides, the RQ-180 has long-range, stealth and high altitude characteristics. The RQ-180 has the long range, stealth, and high altitude to survive and conduct reconnaissance in the most heavily defended airspace.
Last September, the National Interest magazine also revealed that some RQ-180s are currently deployed at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, and that the aircraft will play an important role in future U.S. military confrontations with the Chinese Communist Party.
Mainland media have also claimed that the U.S. military plans to use the RQ-180 to reconnoitre disputed airspace because it is extremely difficult to be detected by radar. Although there have not been any official statements or pictures of the RQ-180 so far, there is growing evidence that the RQ-180 has been put to use in daily frontline missions in the U.S. Air Force military with a sense of mystery.
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