Northrop Grumman "RQ-180"

I wonder when the USAF will finally release photographs of the "RQ-180" and its' actual tri-services designation?
 
Whisperstream said:
The only reason you can see the RQ-4B in the video is because the hangar lights are on. According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, the RQ-180 operations at Edwards take place under strict blackout conditions (no lights in the hangar or on the surrounding ramp) just like the F-117A operations at TTR in the 1980s by the 4450th Tactical Group. Aviation historian Chris Pocock believes the Global Hawks are acting as pathfinders for future RQ-180 ops at Fairford. Similarly, the 4450th used the A-7D as a pathfinder to practice Nighthawk deployments domestically and overseas before the existence of the F-117A was declassified.
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I'm not disagreeing.

However spotters are a tenacious bunch, fine arrive in the dark with the lights off, but they'll just buy night vision goggles and film it that way.

I think if the 180's real it will have to be publicly confirmed and a photo released before being based out of Fairford, otherwise the first shot of it will be on youtube and twitter etc.

Lakenheath was packed out a few weeks ago when the F-22's transited through, even when things are supposed to be kept quiet someone always lets slip.
 
bob225 said:
I'm not disagreeing.

However spotters are a tenacious bunch, fine arrive in the dark with the lights off, but they'll just buy night vision goggles and film it that way.

I think if the 180's real it will have to be publicly confirmed and a photo released before being based out of Fairford, otherwise the first shot of it will be on youtube and twitter etc.

Lakenheath was packed out a few weeks ago when the F-22's transited through, even when things are supposed to be kept quiet someone always lets slip.
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Crud, they'll probably just open up their DSLRs and pry the near-IR filter off the chip if they haven't already. Modern CCDs are sensitive to a much wider range of freqs than the human eye is, it's why you can have a photo taken under mixed UV and white light come up way over-exposed.
 
14 years since it’s maiden flight, only 2 to 3 pictures of what we believe is called the RQ-180, the last one years ago.

The newly built hangars in Guam seem in disrepair.

When the first picture emerged in november 2020 I imagined the RQ-180 would be photographed every now and then, albeit rarely - but the last picture is also 3 years ago.

Back then it seemed they didn’t care if it was photographed, as it was flying in daylight with contrails forming behind it.

It’s been three tears since we’ve seen it. Where is it? Is it still active? Especially with the state the world is in I would expect it’s flying a lot of active missions, which would also increase it’s exposure.

But, so far, nothing. Is it still around? Is it still in active duty?

A lot of UAV infrastructure has been built in Tonopah. Is that where it hides, waiting until it’s called into action?

Anyone who has any new insights or snippets of gossip?
 
Given the dearth of RQ-180 photographs the USAF is clearly taking its' operational security very seriously.
 
Q-nimbus said:
14 years since it’s maiden flight, only 2 to 3 pictures of what we believe is called the RQ-180, the last one years ago.

The newly built hangars in Guam seem in disrepair.

When the first picture emerged in november 2020 I imagined the RQ-180 would be photographed every now and then, albeit rarely - but the last picture is also 3 years ago.

Back then it seemed they didn’t care if it was photographed, as it was flying in daylight with contrails forming behind it.

It’s been three tears since we’ve seen it. Where is it? Is it still active? Especially with the state the world is in I would expect it’s flying a lot of active missions, which would also increase it’s exposure.

But, so far, nothing. Is it still around? Is it still in active duty?

A lot of UAV infrastructure has been built in Tonopah. Is that where it hides, waiting until it’s called into action?

Anyone who has any new insights or snippets of gossip?
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Yes I agree this is strange we see nothing serious about it since a decade.....
 
Or maybe "RQ-180" has ran into some operational or air vehicle technical/performance issues potentially, the program could be on its way out? Or the program is just under very tight security and possibly performing majority of its missions at night?
 
Hydroman said:
Or maybe "RQ-180" has ran into some operational or air vehicle technical/performance issues potentially, the program could be on its way out? Or the program is just under very tight security and possibly performing majority of its missions at night?
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Or it's being operated mostly by a three letter agency that is not DoD, so it isn't housed anywhere one might expect to find USAF activity.
 
sublight_ said:
You are a complete tease. :D
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He is. :)

I believe the field improvements on Guam were for ACE testing/deployment, but don’t quote me on it. Guam is still a pretty public place; if “RQ-180” was operating in the Pacific I would assume it was from one of the totally government owned islands, assuming it even needs to forward deploy. Diego is another strong candidate IMO.
 
quellish said:
That was for a different program
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If I were a betting man I would bet the new UAV infrastructure at Tonopah is for the follow up of the RQ-170.

And I’m almost sure it’s also operated by the Israeli’s as they must have stealth drones considering the intelligence they appear to have. It might have been captured on video already, but I’m not convinced the video we saw a while back is real.

But perhaps Quellish can tell us something more?

_Del_ said:
Or it's being operated mostly by a three letter agency that is not DoD, so it isn't housed anywhere one might expect to find USAF activity.
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I’ve thought that it could very well be a CIA and/or NRO program. Although from the little we know it does seem to be an USAF project, and according to Peter Merlin it’s operated by the 74th Reconnaissance Squadron. Also, if it was operated by the CIA or NRO I imagine it would be even more difficult to operate 9 airframes that big and keep them hidden when not using USAF bases, but although I think unlikely, it could be possible.
 
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Q-nimbus said:
Also, if it was operated by the CIA or NRO I imagine it would be even more difficult to operate 9 airframes that big and keep them hidden when not using USAF bases, but although I think unlikely, it could be possible.
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How long was the Sentinel operating out of an international airport before someone who could put 2+2 together saw it out in the open? No shortage of places to operate from if they are creative. Particularly at night.
Too, when your classified platform looks like the generic flying wing shape, maybe it's a little more difficult to suss out exactly which flying wing shape you thought you saw at night taking off from Creech or Andersen or Kadena or whereever else. Hard to judge an unknown aircraft's size flying in the daylight, never mind when it's a silhouette in the dark sky.
 
Q-nimbus said:
I’ve thought that it could very well be a CIA and/or NRO program. Although from the little we know it does seem to be an USAF project, and according to Peter Merlin it’s operated by the 74th Reconnaissance Squadron. Also, if it was operated by the CIA or NRO I imagine it would be even more difficult to operate 9 airframes that big and keep them hidden when not using USAF bases, but although I think unlikely, it could be possible.
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NRO is not in the air vehicle business
 
Q-nimbus said:
14 years since it’s maiden flight, only 2 to 3 pictures of what we believe is called the RQ-180, the last one years ago.

When the first picture emerged in november 2020 I imagined the RQ-180 would be photographed every now and then, albeit rarely - but the last picture is also 3 years ago.

Back then it seemed they didn’t care if it was photographed, as it was flying in daylight with contrails forming behind it.

It’s been three tears since we’ve seen it. Where is it? Is it still active? Especially with the state the world is in I would expect it’s flying a lot of active missions, which would also increase it’s exposure.

But, so far, nothing. Is it still around? Is it still in active duty?
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Contrails: oh look on the rear facing camera, we're leaving a trail, lets change the altitude.

In general, my guess: it's based somewhere remote, it takes off in the middle of the night, climbs high, goes off and does it's business then comes back again in the dark night, avoiding populated areas back to the remote base., who's going to be able to see it?

Why would its exposure be increased? it probably can loiter for ages, route is planned to avoid being seen, so stays out of the public eye .
 
Q-nimbus said:
14 years since it’s maiden flight, only 2 to 3 pictures of what we believe is called the RQ-180, the last one years ago.

The newly built hangars in Guam seem in disrepair.

When the first picture emerged in november 2020 I imagined the RQ-180 would be photographed every now and then, albeit rarely - but the last picture is also 3 years ago.

Back then it seemed they didn’t care if it was photographed, as it was flying in daylight with contrails forming behind it.

It’s been three tears since we’ve seen it. Where is it? Is it still active? Especially with the state the world is in I would expect it’s flying a lot of active missions, which would also increase it’s exposure.

But, so far, nothing. Is it still around? Is it still in active duty?

A lot of UAV infrastructure has been built in Tonopah. Is that where it hides, waiting until it’s called into action?

Anyone who has any new insights or snippets of gossip?
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A landing strip does not have to be painted like a landing strip for a robot to land on it. There could be large numbers of landing strips photographed every day, that are painted like the surroundings, and no one would even notice. Now if your using SAR or spectrometer you might notice, but the average google maps consumer would never know.
 
Merlin indicates that there are likely enough airframes for a squadron of RQ-180s. Like the B-21, they are big and expensive so I wouldn't expect there to be that many. They would likely be in shelters somewhere. There doesn't seem to be a lot of large shelters which have been constructed over the last several years. I think there is a possibility that there are currently on a very few flying airframes, which are used for training and some operational missions. Most might be in storage somewhere, which might explain the lack of sightings lately.
 
Given the top-secret nature of the RQ-180 what are the odds that all of the airframes have been fitted with HE destruct-charges to prevent capture of an intact example if it's shutdown or malfunctions and crashes?
 
NMaude said:
Given the top-secret nature of the RQ-180 what are the odds that all of the airframes have been fitted with HE destruct-charges to prevent capture of an intact example if it's shutdown or malfunctions and crashes?
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It would be a shame if it's first public appearance was due to a loss within a foreign country, not impossible though.
 
RQ-180 burned to buy 15 more JSFs and enough spare parts for 6-8 of those 15. Truly a moment in DOD history.

Please salute the flag, with your glow belt on, in honor of Big Fighter.
 
B2Blain said:
Merlin indicates that there are likely enough airframes for a squadron of RQ-180s. Like the B-21, they are big and expensive so I wouldn't expect there to be that many. They would likely be in shelters somewhere. There doesn't seem to be a lot of large shelters which have been constructed over the last several years. I think there is a possibility that there are currently on a very few flying airframes, which are used for training and some operational missions. Most might be in storage somewhere, which might explain the lack of sightings lately.
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For an operational surveillance aircraft the fleet size is largely determined by how many orbits can be maintained and for how long.
 
quellish said:
For an operational surveillance aircraft the fleet size is largely determined by how many orbits can be maintained and for how long.
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Yup.

Examples: There were 13x Lockheed A-12 Blackbirds made (and 2x M-21s), roughly 9 in service at a time. There were 32x SR-71s made, IIRC ~24x in service at any one time. And there are currently (2025) 24x U-2S with 3x TU-2S trainers in service. But there are only 9x Global Hawks in service.

So I'm feeling a number somewhere between ~9 and ~24 as the likely number of RQ-180s in service.
 
Scott Kenny said:
Yup.

Examples: There were 13x Lockheed A-12 Blackbirds made (and 2x M-21s), roughly 9 in service at a time. There were 32x SR-71s made, IIRC ~24x in service at any one time. And there are currently (2025) 24x U-2S with 3x TU-2S trainers in service. But there are only 9x Global Hawks in service.

So I'm feeling a number somewhere between ~9 and ~24 as the likely number of RQ-180s in service.
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The Blackbirds were reconnaissance rather than surveillance. Surveillance would be MQ-9, MQ-4, E-3, etc


Let’s say you’re feeling hungry. If you want to know the best time to visit the highest rated shwarma stand in Peckishstan , you need constant surveillance. If you want to know if the stand is at street X at 12 pm you use reconnaissance.
 
quellish said:
The Blackbirds were reconnaissance rather than surveillance. Surveillance would be MQ-9, MQ-4, E-3, etc


Let’s say you’re feeling hungry. If you want to know the best time to visit the highest rated shwarma stand in Peckishstan , you need constant surveillance. If you want to know if the stand is at street X at 12 pm you use reconnaissance.
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Sure, but there are still only 24x U-2S and 9x Global Hawks in service. So for an aircraft doing those missions that's a reasonable number.
 
B2Blain said:
Merlin indicates that there are likely enough airframes for a squadron of RQ-180s. Like the B-21, they are big and expensive so I wouldn't expect there to be that many. They would likely be in shelters somewhere. There doesn't seem to be a lot of large shelters which have been constructed over the last several years. I think there is a possibility that there are currently on a very few flying airframes, which are used for training and some operational missions. Most might be in storage somewhere, which might explain the lack of sightings lately.
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Beale has been touted and has suitable hangars
 
Black Dog said:
Beale has been touted and has suitable hangars
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Beale might have a hangar for 1 of 2 RQ-180’s, not more. They might be controlled from Beale, though, but we can’t be sure.

@quellish, a few years ago you said you’d never seen anything about the RQ-180. Have you ever found out more about the RQ-180 since then?
 
quellish said:
The "UAV improvements" at TTR were for the RQ-170.

The Northwest Field at Anderson improvements were for Agile Combat Employment.
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Why the UAV improvements at TTR for the RQ-170 if it’s largely based at Creech Afb? Or is it merely being controlled at Creech and are the aircraft themselves based at Tonopah?
 

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