White Bat Drone - New US Air Force video offers a glimpse of the RQ-180 'White Bat White' spy drone - watch

A recently released video provides some insight into one of the most intriguing yet little-known modern airframes, tentatively known as the RQ-180.

White Bat Drone

White Bat Drone

Only a few pictures of this airframe have gone up so far. So far three sightings of the same or identical airframes have been reported - one over the Philippines and two over America's main flight test site in California and Nevada

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The US Air Force's RQ-180 'White Bat' is considered to be the newest spy drone in the High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAV category. The video clearly shows that the Pentagon is about to unveil its 'White Bat' soon.

The video, entitled "Today's Legacy - ISR and Innovation", takes a close look at the intelligence and espionage capabilities of the United States Air Force over the past decade. At the end of the video comes the familiar Global Hawk drone and the caption says "The days of balloons and biplanes have been replaced by white bats".

In the next frame, the video released by the United States Air Force Center of Excellence (PACE) directly shows the animated technical drawings of the RQ-180 "White Bat", referring to the RQ-180's potential high-tech opportunities.

Media reports have speculated over the years about the spy drone's physical shape and this recently released video revealed the same shape that various media outlets, including the prestigious Aviation Week, projected.

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As described by The Drive, the USAF would not show the actual drone, which is still classified. It has been speculated that there could be different versions of this HALE stealth drone.

ICYMI, the US Air Force's top secret spy drone made its first public appearance flying high over California. The RQ-180 is like a robotic stealth bomber, minus the bombs. https://t.co/El2rVa7W5m #RQ180 #USAF pic .twitter.com/fcOY9FrvaW — David Ax (@daxe) November 13, 2020

The aircraft's nicknames, albeit unofficial, are "Great White Bat" and "Shikka," according to a report by Aviation Week, which was later confirmed by other sources. Shikaka is the name of a fictional white bat that appears in the 1995 Jim Carrey film Ace Ventura 2.

White Bat Drone

As revealed by Aviation Week, the United States Air Force established the 74th Reconnaissance Squadron at Yale Air Force Base, California, to remotely operate the RQ-180. This unit's insignia features a giant white racket, matching the alleged designations of the RQ-180.

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It is not clear when the US will make a statement about the White Bat. However, there is much speculation that both the RQ-180 and B-21 Raider programs could operate simultaneously. There are five B-21 stealth bombers in various stages of production, the US Secretary of State revealed Frank Kendall in September of this year.

With B-21 flight testing to begin next year, it cannot be ruled out that the RQ-180 will be operational around the same time.

First of all, no one knows exactly what the official name of the unique flying machine is. As previously mentioned, the name was taken from an Aviation Week article about a plane that many had long suspected existed.

A photo taken on Sept. 2 by self-professed "sky watcher" Michael Fognit showed a drone-like object flying at high altitude toward the Philippines, the EurAsian Times reported.

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While the two platforms are complementary in some ways, the RQ-170 is the older, lower, lower, more tactically oriented, and less advanced of the two designs. Both designs are based on the concept of a flying wing.

According to The Drive, the RQ-180 can be described as a network and reconnaissance platform capable of penetrating and penetrating deep into enemy airspace. It will fit into a larger ecosystem of air battles and networks that the Pentagon is secretly building.

The overall architecture is driven by advanced, broadband, from all aspects, low requirements for viewing (stealth). It is designed to fly at very high altitudes in the disputed airspace for extended periods of time, at or above 70,000 feet, without being detected.

White Bat Drone

While little has been revealed exactly about the RQ-180, rumor has it that as a loyal wingman it can fly alongside manned fighter jets and act as the pilot's eyes and ears. Additionally, since the unmanned aircraft is likely to be very stealthy, it could enter disputed airspace and transmit information about air or ground threats to the pilot.

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A photo taken in early October 2020 of what appears to be a high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE), low-observability (stealth) unmanned aerial vehicle flying high above the Mojave Desert north of Edwards Air Force Base in California surfaced on Instagram over the weekend. To the source, other photos were taken in similar locations that were not of unique interest and the photo itself appears legitimate upon examination, but does it actually offer a first glimpse of the Air Force's secret drone, the so-called RQ-180?

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He was flying in a place that more or less makes sense for this aircraft, especially since we understand that at least some RQ-180 operations have migrated to Edwards, but the fact that he did so during the day is strange to say the least. .

The shape of the plan is what we would expect from a low-observability HALE glider, very similar to that of the B-21 Raider, another Northrop Grumman product like the RQ-180 and a stealth aircraft designed for use at high cruising altitude. You can read all about how the B-21 got this unique high-flying configuration in the past War Zone feature.

Even the white color of the aircraft would make sense in the test environment, but also because unmanned intruding drones use white/cream/light pastel colors to better hide at altitude during the day. Still, it's unclear if the RQ-180 will meet a dark schedule Or bright, since it can last for very long periods, from day to night and back again.

White Bat Drone

Anyway, there is one big problem. After first examining the picture, I said to myself "Oh, the polket is back on the air!" What I'm referring to is an experimental Lockheed Skunk Works P-175 Polecat flying-wing UAV that was flown in 2005 as a technology demonstrator. It is stationed near Yucca Dry Lake on the Department of Energy's portion of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) during its experiments. The plane eventually broke down and crashed, and that was the end of the somewhat mysterious plan, or so we're told.

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However, we do know that other Polecat bodies were built - one of the goals of the program was to push the production and design of advanced composite structures to the limits of technology at the time. In fact, it was shrink-wrapped in the backyard of the sprawling Skunk Works complex at Factory 42 in Palmdale for years—until a few years ago.

2015 satellite image of the Skunk Works factory building with the Pole's torso in the background., Google Earth

In fact, the aircraft seen in the photo is a dead ringer for the Polecat in every way, including the twin mid-engines, the thin clipped wings and the bulbous belly shape. The Polket also had the exact same color and would have no problem flying it in the middle of the day as it is a plan that the classification.

Why would Lockheed revive Polkett? Well, for similar reasons the RQ-180 exists, and more. In fact, we argued that it was a nearly perfect platform for the airborne laser tests that the Missile Defense Agency planned a few years ago. You can read all about this initiative and the P-175 Polecat in our previous piece. A refurbished and upgraded Polket can be used as a testbed for all kinds of low tech related to flying wings, including some components that will be incorporated into the B-21.

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At the same time, there are only so many ways to skin the proverbial cat when it comes to the best configurations for a high-flying, unobtrusive, subsonic flying-wing aircraft. As noted earlier, the Polecat has a lot in common with the shape of the B-21 Raider, at least based on the renders we've seen of the bomber, which is a glowing endorsement of how much of a Skunk Works base it was. rat. to design. It

The RQ-180 may also share a very similar shape. In fact, the configuration of the B-21, again a Northrop Grumman product like the RQ-180, would be proof of that and the company has released several high-flying fantasy drone designs that are very similar in appearance and have been around for nearly two decades.

So what do I think we're seeing here? It's unclear, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is indeed our first look at the RQ-180. At the same time, there is a possibility that it could be a polket

White Bat Drone

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