Lockheed Martin has confirmed that the RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone operated in support of the recent mission to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
This revelation was made by Jim Taiclet, CEO of Lockheed Martin, during a quarterly earnings conference call on Thursday morning (29), as reported by The War Zone.
“This is what you can expect from Lockheed Martin: continued and significant investment to drive technological development and produce proven weapons systems at ever-greater scale. We leveraged this momentum to start 2026 at full speed,” Taiclet said.
“Lockheed Martin products have once again proven to be critical to the most demanding missions of the U.S. armed forces. The recent Operation Absolute Resolve included F-35 and F-22 fighter jets, stealth RQ-170 Sentinel drones, and Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters, which helped ensure the success of the mission and bring the men and women of our armed forces safely back home.”
After the conclusion of Operation Absolute Resolve on January 3, videos emerged showing at least one, and possibly two, RQ-170 Sentinel spy drones arriving at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.
Subsequently, the U.S. Armed Forces confirmed that F-35 and F-22 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters belonging to the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers), among many other types of aircraft, took part in the operation.
However, although the use of drones was also mentioned, the RQ-170 had not been explicitly cited. Now, with Taiclet’s confirmation, we know that the RQ-170 Sentinel did take part in the operation, although the exact role played by the drone remains unclear.
Photo: USAF. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
