Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall hinted at the existence of a mysterious new intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform, sparking speculation about the long-rumored stealth drone, the RQ-180. While Kendall didn’t provide explicit details, his comments suggest a mix of advanced systems, including space-based and high-altitude platforms, are in the works to replace older models like the U-2 and RQ-4. This revelation points to a future where the Air Force employs cutting-edge, resilient technologies to gather critical intelligence, keeping adversaries in the dark and maintaining a strategic edge.
The future of U.S. Air Force capabilities has long been a matter of concern, and Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall has alluded to the possibility of a new intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform. Usually, this kind of platform is thought to be a very covert, long-range, high-altitude surveillance drone, also known as the RQ-180. However, there are other options as well, and even an RQ-180 would be just one component of a more extensive constellation of next-generation ISR systems.
At the top of this post is a hypothetical rendering of what the RQ-180 stealth drone, which is capable of long and high flights, would look like. There is no assurance that the Air Force will continue to support a system like the RQ-180, even if it has been generally suggested that it or its ancestors have been flying for years and may still be in use, if only partially. This is particularly relevant given the DoD’s growing preference for space-based distributed constellations. They provide continuous target area monitoring that was previously unattainable with low-Earth orbit-based sensing systems, and they are incredibly resistant to attacks. One such program is indeed well underway for development and seems to be geared toward accomplishing at least some of the tasks that a hypothetical RQ-180 would probably be assigned to perform. To put it another way, the existence of an aircraft similar to the RQ-180 does not ensure its future.
A veteran aviation writer, author, and authority on the U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane, Chris Pocock, posed a question to Kendall during a roundtable discussion on Sunday, just prior to the start of the Farnborough International Airshow in England. Pocock questioned the chief of the Air Force about what would happen to the aerial ISR layer once the U-2 Dragon Lady and RQ-4 Global Hawk were retired. This will happen after the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) is retired.
“What is that airborne layer? You’re retiring JSTARS, you’re retiring the U-2, you’re retiring Global Hawk,” Pocock said.
Intriguingly, Kendall described the upcoming ISR layer as “a combination of things.”
“I mentioned E-7 at the beginning of the conversation,” Kendall continued. “That’s part of that layer. So, we’re making progress on that, as I said before. We’re retaining some of the [E-3 Sentry] AWACSs, for example, to help transition smoothly over to a combination of … space-based capabilities and new systems like the E-7. So there’s a mix of systems in there, some of which there’s not much I can say about them.”
The aforementioned “RQ-180” is probably at least one of the systems about which the Air Force Secretary is unable to provide much information.
To help satisfy the needs of the USAF, of course, as we’ve previously mentioned, several tiers of uncrewed ISR aircraft are being developed in the classified and unclassified domains, or potentially even in limited service already. It is also evident that this approach includes assigning these responsibilities to several aircraft in need, including multi-role human and unmanned models, and combining the data they gather through sophisticated networking. The Air Force is also hard at work developing new constellations of distributed ISR satellites, as Kendall noted and as we explained at the top of this post.
However, no matter how sophisticated these satellite constellations are, they will never be able to match the adaptability and flexibility that unmanned or otherwise functioning platforms in the earth’s atmosphere can offer. Moreover, redundancy is required in the collection of this crucial data. Though the visible platforms available to gather critical battlefield and general intelligence data over wide areas seem to be regressing, USAF planners are well aware of the exponential growth in demand for this data.
Kendall’s remark emphasizes that the capabilities now offered by the U-2, RQ-4, and E-8C will not be replaced by a single platform or one that meets all situations. The final product will undoubtedly center on distributed concepts—both on Earth and in space—that will combine to take advantage of cutting-edge networking and computing architectures to prioritize the most important data and gather massive volumes of information that can be used in almost real time.
Congressmen are trying to stop the Air Force from retiring its fleet of these high-flying, Cold War-era aircraft, despite the service’s current intention to sell off the last of its U-2s in 2026.
By the conclusion of the fiscal year 2027, the Air Force intends to retire the last of its RQ-4 high-altitude, long-endurance drones.
The E-8C was finally retired in November of last year, having finished its last operational deployment in June of the previous year.
In the past, it has been assumed that the Air Force possesses a viable unmanned replacement that is either nearing service entry or is already being used operationally, which is why the U-2 and RQ-4 were withdrawn.
It’s also noteworthy that previous law had stipulated that retiring the U-2 could only go forward if the Pentagon could attest to the fulfillment of specific requirements. One thing you can read more about here is the requirement that the ensuing capability gap be filled as cheaply as possible.
Both the U-2 and the RQ-4’s growing susceptibility to air defenses, even those now employed by lesser-tier possible enemies, is a primary justification for retiring them. The U-2 and RQ-4’s capacity to survive an encounter with near-peer competitors such as China and Russia is highly doubtful, given their mere ability to approach closely enough to use their sensors is now severely limited. The danger is only increasing in the case of China, in particular, as its military is enlarging its area denial and anti-access bubbles and extending them farther and farther from the mainland.
An Air Force spokesman, Ann Stefanek, informed Breaking Defense the following in July 2022 when word leaked out about the decision to retire the last of the RQ-4:
“Our ability to win future high-end conflicts requires accelerating investment in connected, survivable platforms and accepting short-term risks by divesting legacy ISR assets that offer limited capability against peer and near-peer threats.”
A particularly visible example of the RQ-4’s vulnerability occurred in June 2019 when Iran shot down a BAMS-D drone, which is a Global Hawk derivative used by the U.S. Navy, over the Persian Gulf. The usefulness of the Global Hawk family in upcoming high-end battles against adversaries with more sophisticated air defense systems was the subject of a highly visible debate.
However, the RQ-4 and U-2’s sensor capabilities are still quite valuable.
These aerial ISR platforms are capable of carrying many images, signal intelligence, radar, and other sensors at the same time. U-2s and RQ-4s may and do routinely deploy to various forward areas, in contrast to space-based assets. From there, they provide a particularly adaptable and unpredictable intelligence-gathering capacity, able to swiftly orbit over a specific region of interest for extended periods.
In light of this, it is widely acknowledged that a key component of the Air Force’s revamped airborne ISR layer will be a stealthy, long-range, high-altitude spy drone. This drone can breach air defenses that a U-2 or RQ-4 would find unsafe to operate in, even with their extended sensor ranges. Once there, it will have the endurance to suck up vital intelligence for extended periods while the opponent is unaware that anyone is watching.
Kendall’s allusion over the weekend is merely the most recent hint that a platform exists, one whose existence makes sense for the Pentagon. Apart from its primary function, the RQ-180, or its variations, may also be employed as an electronic attack, communications, and data-sharing node. All of this is predicated on the notion that a covert, high-end drone such as this would obtain the necessary funding, an understanding that is increasingly dubious as the Air Force looks for ways to reduce the cost of expensive programs like the crewed fighter at the center of its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.
Though cautious, the Secretary of the Air Force’s recent remarks certainly highlights the realization that old ISR platforms—which were formerly seen to be indispensable to operations—are now deemed to be too susceptible to endure.
The Air Force is undoubtedly investing in more advanced and resilient systems as these antiquated platforms are gradually phased out. Although it is still unclear whether or not the RQ-180 will end up being one of those systems and if so, Kendall’s statement seems to support the existence of those allegations.
Recently, GreatGameInternational reported that Russia has introduced the Vogan-9SP, a new drone designed to combat Ukrainian UAVs that have been causing significant losses.
2 Responses
change what? its still death and destruction.
Thanks for the laugh.
Every one of the US’ Game-changer WunderWaffen for the past 30 years has been a crock.