Blackbirds Clinch 2025 RPA Squadron of the Year for Stealth ISR Work

The U.S. Air Force’s most secretive drone unit, the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron (the Blackbirds), won the 2025 General Atomics RPA Squadron of the Year award for a year that included 87 ISR missions across three areas of responsibility, rapid forward basing and airlift worth about $7.2 million, and six large-force exercises. While the award highlights the squadron’s operational excellence, many specifics about the RQ-170 Sentinel and the unit’s broader drone activities remain classified, with speculation about potential involvement in missions such as Maduro’s capture and possible links to other stealth platforms like the RQ-180.