Site 7, near the middle of Plant 42, has a number of large sheds and work buildings which have been used recently for especially sensitive and advanced aviation test programs. This is where Lockheed Skunk Works tested the RQ-170 Sentinel UAV, one of the most exotic and secretive UAVs known to be deployed across the globe. It resembles a flying wing, like the B-2 stealth bomber, and was developed for the CIA as a pilotless stealth surveillance aircraft with a wide range of electronic surveillance and countermeasures systems. It has been flying since at least 2005, and gained some notoriety when Iran captured one, mostly intact, in 2011. Northrop Grumman also has facilities at Site 7, recently used for the testing program for the MQ-4C Triton UAV, dozens of which are now in use by the Navy as surveillance aircraft.
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