RQ-180? Next-Gen Spy Drone Spotted Over California 

A mysterious military drone, operating near Edwards AFB, California, was photographed in broad daylight and recently uploaded to social media. 

Instagram user Rob Kolinsky of Sundowner Studios uploaded the photograph on Nov. 1 of the drone but has since replaced the image with a graphic that reads, “[REDACTED]”, according to The Aviationist. 

In the original post, Kolinsky wrote, “this [military drone] flew over my house several weeks ago and I still have yet to identify it! It’s shaped like a B-21 (in illustrations) but was painted white. Mystery!” 

He continued: “I was not going to post it but I thought that if it were really classified, they wouldn’t be flying it in broad daylight like this. Can anyone lend a hand in identifying her?” 

While Kolinsky mentioned the photograph is from “several weeks ago,” there was no mention of the exact date, time, or specific location. Nevertheless, there was no mention of the camera used to take the photo. 

After Kolinsky removed the photo, Aviation Week reporters Steve Trimble and Guy Norris wrote an article describing the “new aircraft generally matching Aerospace DAILY’s understanding of the shape of what is commonly known as the RQ-180 unmanned aircraft system (UAS).”

“Quick review of the image. there is some JPG artifacting going on around the subject but could be the compression as well. The subject it self looks pretty legit I put some similar drones aside it for comparison. B2 is out of the question because it has a double ‘saw tooth’ tail,” said on Twitter user. 

Quick review of the image. there is some JPG artifacting going on around the subject but could be the compression as well. The subject it self looks pretty legit I put some similar drones aside it for comparison. B2 is out of the question because it has a double ‘saw tooth’ tail. pic.twitter.com/WTTJthiarj

— Ruben Hofs (@rubenhofs) November 2, 2020

Not too long ago, we reported a combat stealth drone also known as “loyal wingman” for fourth and fifth-generation aircraft was spotted in Australia. 

Who knows if the mysterious drone was an actual RQ-180, but what this all suggests is that the US military is quickly advancing autonomous war machines as geopolitical tensions rise with China.