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A thick veil of mystery surrounds the RQ-170 drone that was reportedly used to find and monitor Osama Bin Laden in 2011...
Among the revelations published in recent hours by American media regarding Operation Absolute Resolve, which led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the possible use of a mysterious drone, the RQ-170 Sentinel, is particularly piqued the curiosity of experts and others.
The unmanned aerial vehicle known as the Beast of Kandahar was reportedly first seen in 2007 in Afghanistan, where it was deployed to monitor Al Qaeda militants.
At least one RQ-170 Sentinel, or possibly two, are believed to have taken part in the mission in Venezuela, reports the specialized website The War Zone.
The objective: to track the movements of the Venezuelan dictator and his wife. It is not easy to spot this aircraft in action. In fact, the reconnaissance drone was filmed only after returning to its base in Puerto Rico, which since last September has become a strategic hub for US military operations in the Caribbean region.
A great deal of mystery surrounds the Sentinel. The Air Force officially acknowledged its existence more than 15 years ago, but continues to maintain the utmost secrecy regarding the composition of its drone fleet. Estimates put the number of aircraft currently in service with the US Air Force at between 20 and 30. However, the difficulty of the mission that led to the identification and extraction of Maduro, experts point out, makes the use of the Beast of Kandahar very likely.
It is known with absolute certainty that stealth drones have been used in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and South Korea, in this case possibly flying over or very close to North Korea, and in some areas of the Pacific. The monitoring of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, carried out by Sentinels in 2011, before and during the raid by US Special Forces, was said to have been invaluable. More recently, it is believed that the aircraft may have been sent to the Black Sea region between 2022 and 2023 to gather intelligence on Russian forces in the Crimean Peninsula.
The RQ-170 is over 20 years old and not entirely state-of-the-art, but it still offers stealth capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, and persistent reconnaissance missions, making it difficult to detect in enemy airspace. The stealth drones will be able to carry a variety of sensors, including an active electronically scanned array radar capable of detecting moving targets on the ground.
The Sentinels' capabilities would have allowed them to track Maduro's movements and determine his habits, aided by the presence of a CIA team on the ground since August. The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, revealed that the intelligence unit had discovered how Hugo Chavez's heir "moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore and what his pets were."
CNN revealed that among the American sources was a CIA source within the Venezuelan government who helped Washington track Maduro's whereabouts and movements, between 6 and 8 locations, according to the New York Times, before his capture.
Although it could rely on resources on the ground, without the help from above provided by the Beast of Kandahar, the mission in Venezuela (very similar to the one in Pakistan against Bin Laden) could have had a very different outcome. /Pamphlet/
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