The U.S. Air Force confirmed the existence of the "Beast of Kandahar," a stealth drone whose official name is the RQ-170 Sentinel. The confirmation of the drone was revealed in a December 4, 2009, report by Aviation Week.http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/BEAST120409.xml&headline=USAF%20Confirms%20Stealthy%20UAV%20Operations&channel=defense

The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) drone was first spotted in late-2007 in Afghanistan. At the time, blurry images of the classified craft were leaked. In December 2009, a blog tied to the Liberation, a French newspaper, published new images.http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/12/mysteries-surround-afghanistans-stealth-drone/

Aviation Week received an emailed statement from the USAF in regards to the rumors of a secret stealth aircraft that was first spotted in 2007. In a December 2009 report by Aviation Week, details about the RQ-170, nicknamed the "Beast of Kandahar," were revealed. The drone provides "reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward deployed combat forces." The article notes that the drone's color, a "medium gray," is normally the color of armed aircrafts like the Predator or Reaper drones and dark gray or black "provides the best concealment" at high altitudes. The Aviation Week report says the wingspan looks like it's about 65 feet across, has a "deep, fat centerbody blended into the outer wings."http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/BEAST120409.xml&headline=USAF%20Confirms%20Stealthy%20UAV%20Operations