Operation Absolute Resolve, the military action through which the United States Armed Forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, continues to reveal additional details about its true scope and the scale of the actions carried out in Venezuela. It comes as no surprise to state, without any doubt, that the U.S. spared no effort to successfully execute the operation, deploying high-profile capabilities and assets across all domains. In this context, the return to Puerto Rico—one of the main support hubs for U.S. operations—of combat and support aircraft indicates that the deployment involved some of the most secret systems and platforms currently in service with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), most notably with the confirmation that the stealth RQ-170 Sentinel drone took part in the operation.
Developed by Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works design team just over two decades ago, the RQ-170 Sentinel remains, to this day, one of the most secretive unmanned aerial vehicles in service with the U.S. Air Force.
Designed to operate stealthily in highly contested environments in order to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities deep inside enemy airspace, the Sentinel has taken part in some of the highest-profile operations conducted by the United States Armed Forces over the past two decades.
Among these, the raid on the Abbottabad compound in Pakistan—resulting in the death of Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden—stands out. Other deployments have also included operations over Iran, where its first operational loss was recorded, as well as missions conducted near North Korean airspace. More recently, operations in the Black Sea have also been reported, presumably aimed at collecting intelligence on Russian Armed Forces deployments in the region.
While the presence of the RQ-170 in Venezuelan airspace has not been officially confirmed, the return to Puerto Rico of one of these aircraft following the conclusion of Operation Absolute Resolve points to its operational deployment. The aircraft arrived during the early hours of February 3 at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, located within José Aponte de la Torre Airport, which, as noted, serves as one of the largest support hubs for U.S. assets and capabilities deployed in the region.
This was further underscored by the presence of several of the most advanced combat aircraft currently in service, including fifth-generation F-22 Raptor and F-35A fighters of the U.S. Air Force, as well as F-35B aircraft operated by the U.S. Marine Corps, in addition to EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.
Returning to the RQ-170’s role, details regarding its actions over the airspace of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, remain unknown. However, given its mission profile and capabilities—ranging from the aforementioned ISR functions to the presence of an AESA radar capable of generating synthetic aperture imagery and ground-moving target indication, combined with electro-optical and infrared video cameras—it may have been among the first assets to enter action, providing an overall picture of the situation and initiating the tracking of high-value targets for the operation, among them Nicolás Maduro.
It should also be noted that the RQ-170 may have been among the last platforms to exit Caracas airspace, after gathering intelligence on the status of targets struck by U.S. combat aircraft, which, as evidenced by widely circulated images, neutralized multiple sites hosting air defense systems and anti-aircraft batteries.
Finally, at present—and in keeping with the platform’s low-profile nature in order to preserve its secrecy—the RQ-170 Sentinel is operated under the organizational structure of the 432nd Wing, based at Creech Air Force Base in the state of Nevada, flying with the 30th and 44th Reconnaissance Squadrons.
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