One of the Air Force's most secret aircraft was recently seen over the skies of Southern California, sporting new equipment that points to new secret missions. The RQ-170 Sentinel drone was photographed flying over Vandenberg Air Force Base by photographers there to cover a satellite launch.

Developed in secret by Lockheed Martin, the RQ-170 Sentinel was dubbed "The Beast of Kandahar" in 2009 when it was photographed for the first time at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. Highly classified, the sighting was the first indication the RQ-170 even existed.

The Air Force has reportedly operated the RQ-170 near Iran and North Korea, using it for so-called "national collection missions" to collect secret intelligence. A Sentinel was flying over Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011 when Navy SEALs killed him, and in 2011 Iran reported one crashed on its territory. The Air Force acknowledged the loss of an RQ-170 and asked for it back but Iran refused.

Captured RQ-170 Sentinel drone on display in Iran, 2012. Atta Kenare Getty Images

According toAW&ST, the aircraft was sighted on February 28th by photographers visiting Vandenberg to cover the launch of NROL-79 , an Atlas V rocket and its package of two Naval Ocean Surveillance Satellites. The RQ-170 photographed at Vandenberg differs from previous Sentinel sightings. According to AW&ST, the drone appears to have a large air data sensor probe, and black wing panel that points to an "active electronically scanned array surveillance (AESA) and tracking radar system."

The RQ-170 reportedly flew over North Korea as early as 2009, likely to observe North Korea's ballistic missile program. Primarily a missile launching base, Vandenberg Air Force Base doesn't have much secure flyover airspace--the closest place a high altitude, long endurance drone can stretch its legs is the Navy's nearby Pt. Mugu testing range, a 36,000 square mile stretch of water off the California coast.

Interestingly, the U.S. Navy launched four Trident II D-5 submarine launched ballistic missiles from the Pt. Mugu testing range during a three day period in mid-February. It is possible the RQ-170 was in the area to observe NROL-79 and the Trident launches with its new AESA radar as a test before being sent overseas to observe North Korean (and Iranian) ballistic missile launches.

Read more and see the photos at Aviation Week & Space Technology

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io