(All images by Google Earth/Street View)
In June 2012 the press was aflutter over claims that a commercial satellite may have captured the US military’s latest top secret spy drone parked in a junk-strewn corner of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works plant in Palmdale, California. Seen alongside an old F-16 (possibly a mockup), the flying wing-type craft appeared to be stored in some sort of form-fitting bag, perhaps similar to those used at AMARG.
The Aviationist’s David Cenciotti pointed out that the UAV had also shown-up in earlier satellite images, suggesting it had been outside for several years. Fast forward to the most recent Google Earth image (May 2013) and the craft can still be seen, albeit relocated slightly south. It’s now stored on the site of a structure that has been removed or demolished in the last few years.
This image from Google Street View looks down 10th St E from Blackbird Ln towards where the presumed UAV is located, well out of range of the cameras. As various commentators have pointed out, the craft is similar in size to the classified RQ-170 Sentinel, a Lockheed-built drone once dubbed the Beast of Kandahar.
Of course, it’s unlikely that it’s a real RQ-170. The ‘drone’ is probably a mockup or test article. But of what, exactly? If it were a Sentinel model, it’s been outside since at least June 2009, which seems unlikely since the US Air Force didn’t officially announced its existence until months later. Could it be related to a company funded project such as the P-175 Polecat programme?
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