Overview
- On a Jan. 29 earnings call, James Taiclet said Operation Absolute Resolve included F-35s, F-22s, RQ-170 Sentinel drones, and Black Hawk helicopters.
- Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Dan Caine had described a force of roughly 150 aircraft from about 20 bases, but the Air Force has not specifically named the RQ-170.
- Video circulating after the Jan. 3 mission showed one or two Sentinels arriving at the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico.
- Taiclet provided no operational details, and the U.S. military has not described what tasks the Sentinels performed during the raid.
- Analysts called the disclosure unusual and likely pre-vetted, noting the Sentinel’s small, classified fleet at Creech AFB and its history in high-profile ISR missions over Pakistan and Iran.