Photo Of The US Air Force's Newest Secret Stealth Drone Winds Up On Instagram

Forbes: The U.S. Air Force’s Secret Spy Drone Makes Public Debut—On Instagram 

The U.S. Air Force’s secret stealth spy drone apparently has broken cover. 

An aircraft matching the description of the bat-wing RQ-180 flew high over Edwards Air Force Base in California in broad daylight sometime in early October, its twin engines trailing a long, puffy contrail. 

Photographer Rob Kolinsky snapped at least one good photo of the mystery-plane. 

On Saturday, he briefly posted the picture on Instagram. “This thing flew over my house several weeks ago and I still have yet to identify it,” Kolinsky wrote. 

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Update #1: Not So Secret: US Air Force's Secret Stealth Drone Winds Up on Instagram (Science Times) 

Update #2: Possible Photo Of Highly Secret RQ-180 Aircraft Surfaces Online (Aviation Week) 

WNU Editor: I am impressed that the photographer was able to get a picture.

The U.S. Air Force's New RQ-180 Drone Is Flying From A Base In Northern California

Northrop Grumman’s X-47B, which the new, top-secret RQ-180 is thought to resemble. Courtesy Northrop Grumman

Popular Mechanics: The U.S. Air Force's Secretive New Drone Is a B-2 Lookalike

But it follows in the footsteps of spy planes like the SR-71 and U-2.

* The U.S. Air Force's secretive new RQ-180 drone is flying from a base in Northern California.
* The drone reportedly resembles the B-2 bomber.
* The RQ-180 was designed and flown at Area 51 and is rumored to have flown to the North Pole as a graduation test.

The U.S. Air Force is secretly flying a huge new drone from a base in Northern California. The RQ-180 a high altitude, long endurance drone reconnaissance drone, is reportedly operating from Beale Air Force Base, the former home of the SR-71 Blackbird and U-2 spy planes. Unlike other drones, the RQ-180 is designed to evade radar, conducting its mission in secret.

AvWeek published a lengthy read on the RQ-180. The magazine, long known as “AvLeak”, lived up to its reputation by revealing many previously unknown details about the secret aircraft. According to the article, the RQ-180 was built by Northrop Grumman and is based on an unmanned aerial combat vehicle (UCAV) design the company pitched to the U.S. Air Force in 2005.

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WNU Editor: It looks like this drone will be following the footsteps of the SR-71 and U-2.

New U.S. Stealth Drone To Be A Game Changer (Updated)

U.S. Seeks Spy Edge With Stealth Drone -- CNN

It looks like a bat, sweeping, turning. But it’s actually the new super-secret Air Force stealth drone.

CNN has learned this unmanned spy plane is designed to fly for up to 24 hours behind enemy lines in countries like North Korea, Iran, and Syria.

Military sources tell CNN it will give the United States a critical stealth advantage to spy on countries that have strong air defense systems able to shoot down more conventional aircraft.

The drone, believed to be called the RQ-180, was first revealed by the magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology in a lengthy article co-authored by Amy Butler and Bill Sweetman, both long time experts in classified military stealth technology.

The program is so classified the Air Force would not confirm its existence to CNN or Aviation Week.

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More News On The RQ-180

EXCLUSIVE: Secret New UAS Shows Stealth, Efficiency Advances -- Aviation Week
Northrop surveillance drone could make Air Force debut in 2015 -- Washington Business
Air Force building drone for operations in ‘hostile’ airspace -- Washington Times
U.S. Air Force flying new unmanned Northrop spy plane -AvWeek -- Reuters
Aviation Week: Air Force's new stealth spy drone is already flying -- NBC News
New Stealth Spy Drone Already Flying Over Area 51 -- Wired
Shhh! Top-Secret Reconnaissance Drone Could Make Air Force Debut in 2015 -- Live Science
Super-secret drone runs test flights over Area 51, report says -- FOX News
Aviation Week: RQ-180 UAS is the USAF new Stealth Drone -- Defense Update
Unmasked: Area 51's Biggest, Stealthiest Spy Drone Yet -- Foreign Policy
US tests classified spy drone with ‘superior stealth, efficiency capabilities’ -- RT
Northrop Grumman RQ-180 Low-Observable Flying-Wing Stealth UAS/UAV/Drone Aircraft for ISR Missions: Out of the Black and into the Light! -- Defense Review
US Air Force's latest stealth drone revealed -- Verge
Not your average drone: new technology the US military is developing -- Christian Science Monitor

Unmasking The U.S. Air Force's New Drone: RQ-180

Aviation Week

Secret New UAS Shows Stealth, Efficiency Advances -- Aviation Week

A large, classified unmanned aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman is now flying—and it demonstrates a major advance in combining stealth and aerodynamic efficiency. Defense and intelligence officials say the secret unmanned aerial system (UAS), designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, is scheduled to enter production for the U.S. Air Force and could be operational by 2015.

Funded through the Air Force’s classified budget, the program to build this new UAS, dubbed the RQ-180, was awarded to Northrop Grumman after a competition that included Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The aircraft will conduct the penetrating ISR mission that has been left unaddressed, and under wide debate, since retirement of the Lockheed SR-71 in 1998.

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More News On The RQ-180

Unmasking the RQ-180 -- Ares/Aviation Week
Where Does RQ-180 Fit In Stealthy UAS History? -- Aviation Week
U.S. Air Force flying new Northrop spy drone -AvWeek -- Reuters
Unmasked: Area 51's Biggest, Stealthiest Spy Drone Yet -- Killer Apps/Foreign Policy
Penton's Aviation Week Uncovers New, Classified Unmanned Aircraft Flying at Area 51 -- Sacramento Bee/PR Newswire
Report: Air Force building drone for operations in ‘hostile’ airspace -- Washington Times
US Air Force 'secretly builds new stealth drone' -- The Telegraph
Aviation Week: RQ-180 UAS is the USAF new Stealth Drone -- Defense Update