Secret RQ-180 Stealthy Unmanned Spy Plane Spotted Over Area 51
This was the third photographic encounter with the mysterious RQ-180 flying wing drone, leaving little doubt as to its existence.
By Thomas Newdick and Tyler Rogoway November 1, 2021
The War Zone
A year after the apparent first sighting of what is very likely to be the Air Force’s so-called ‘RQ-180’ very stealthy flying-wing surveillance aircraft above the Mojave Desert, what looks like the very same aircraft has now been photographed over Area 51, the clandestine flight test center deep within the Nevada Test and Training Range. While we still don’t know for absolute certain the details surrounding this craft, or even its official designation, the latest appearance follows a previous sighting over the Philippines in September that The War Zone was first to report and suggests perhaps that the secret drone is now edging toward a more operational, and possibly even less clandestine, status.
The latest photo of the purported RQ-180, which has all the hallmarks of a high-altitude, long-endurance type with obvious stealthy characteristics, was posted on October 31 by our friends over at the Dreamlandresort.com website, maintained by Joerg Arnu. He was on the scene and described how the sighting unfolded:
“A friend who wishes to remain anonymous and I were at the Groom Lake Road gate yesterday. I heard a faint aircraft noise and noticed a contrail straight above us, inside the Area 51 restricted airspace, heading roughly SSW. Through my IS [image stabalized] binoculars, I first thought I was looking at a B-2 until I realized it had a POINTED tail. The B-2 has a serrated tail. My friend took the enclosed photo (two enhanced versions superimposed). It is clearly a twin-engine aircraft.”
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42949/secret-rq-180-stealth-drone-photographed-over-area-51
